Looking Through My Eyes
by venomouskiss819
Summary: KaidohXOC The feared and introverted second-year Regular gets thrown for a loop when a shy, polite classmate takes a particular interest in him. He finds himself experiencing strange feelings towards her, but senses she's keeping a secret from everyone.
1. A Gray Ball of Fluff

**I live! Hey, I'm Erica and I've been absent from for about...8 months. Family and school problems are the cause. Hopefully things will be better now. I'll be posting at least once a month, maybe more if I have free time. I also plan to pick up my two abandoned stories when I get the chance. Their story lines are still in my head and written down in random notebooks, so it won't be too hard.**

**This is a Prince of Tennis story! It will follow the ****anime****from start to finish. Evidently, there will be spoilers for some in later chapters. I'll make sure to point out at the beginning of chapters with matches which will be featured so readers know if they're going into unknown territory or not. I hope you enjoy, I have fun writting it! Review if you please**

_**START**_

"Fshhh..."

A muscular youth hissed quietly to himself before setting off down a wooded path for a morning jog. Dew had settled on leaves nearby, occasionally dropping from the slight breeze and glistening from the dull tones of the sunrise on the horizon. The same wind gently blew the boy's black tank top as his feet carried him swiftly across the terrain. Sharp green eyes scanned the path through black bangs, which were peaking out from under a green bandanna tied securely around his head. His breathing wasn't labored in the least, and his pace showed that he was prepared for a long run. This would probably be the easiest and most peaceful moment of his day, as in a few hours he had to report to his school, Seishun Gakuen, for morning practice, and only had evening practice to look forward to while he sat through his classes. After two more jogs and some warm-down exercises, he would retire to his house, only to start the same routine tomorrow. Not that he minded, he preferred things to be in order and disliked sudden changes. Unpredictability may be interesting, but it can easily lead to trouble.

"Nya!" a nearby bush seemed to exclaim, throwing the boy from his meditative state. He nearly stumbled in surprise, but quickly corrected his misstep and slowed down. The bush that seemed to have made the noise was still. There wasn't anything around that would have made the sound, either; the only nearby animals were squirrels, and the boy had never heard of them sounding like a cat.

"Nyaaaaa!" There is was again! While his eyes were on the squirrels scurrying up and down the branches of a nearby tree, the bush had shuddered and made the same sound again. The boy stared at the shrub wearily, disliking the oddity of the situation and refusing to look away until he could identify the source of the sound.

Coincidentally, his internal questions were answered as a small ball of gray fluff rolled out from under the bush and made the same noise he had heard before. The fluff ball shook itself and stood on shaky legs. It was a little neko, appearing barely old enough to be away from its mother.

Through his tough exterior, the boy really had a gentle heart. Animals were his soft spot, particularly nekos. He perked up at the sight of the adorable gray ball and knelt down to pet it. It blinked and looked up at him innocently.

The boy drew back in surprise, almost falling over. One blue eye and one green eye stared back at him, blinking in wonder. The neko had two differently colored eyes.

Despite himself, the boy gently began petting the neko, delighted at its purr of pleasure. Having two differently colored eyes was unnatural, but how could something so cute and innocent be evil? Then neko began stumbling around, pouncing on anything that moved. The boy teased it lightly with his fingers, pulling away just at it lunged at him. A small smirk crossed his face and he played with the little neko.

"Kumo-kun? Ah, where are you Kumo-kun? Oh this is not good..." From somewhere down the path, a feminine voice called desperately. Quickly, the boy rose to his feet and started jogging at a much slower pace than before. Secretly, he wanted to make sure that the person he heard would find the neko and make sure it got back to its home. Unfortunately for him, the little neko chased unsteadily after him, tangling itself between his legs and making very adorable noises.

"Kumo-kun!" The voice was getting closer, and it was getting harder and harder for the boy to keep running with the neko running across his path and weaving in and out of this legs. As he predicted, the boy fell to the ground very unceremoniously. The neko ran up to his head and started pawing at his banana, as if urging him to get up and play some more.

"Ah, Kumo-kun! Yokatta!" A girl appearing in her early teens ran up to the boy and the neko, scooping the latter up into her arms and hugging it to her chest tightly. "I've been looking for you for hours! Hontou ni arigatou gozaimasu."

The boy looked up in surprise, having barely registered that someone was right by him until he heard her last sentence. Again he picked himself up and turned to jog, hiding his flaming cheeks from view.

"Chotto matte kudasai!" He stopped mid-step and turned reluctantly to look at the girl. At first glance he saw she was much shorter than him, with deep brown hair and dark eyes. Upon closer inspection he noticed she was dressed in a pair of black sweatpants and a gray short-sleeved shirt. She had a wrist cuff on her left wrist and ankle weights strapped just above jogging shoes. She looked at him with gratitude through a bang covering her right eye, seemingly unfazed by his appearance. The fact that she was unaffected confused and unsettled him slightly. He was used to people shrinking away from him in fear, and yet this girl smiled happily up at him with not a blink of hesitation.

"Ano, is something wrong?" she asked him in a worried tone. He realized that he had been staring at her for some time and quickly averted his eyes. His cheeks flushed again but he managed to regain his composure quickly.

"What do you want?" His rough voice made her smile falter for a second. The same smile she had on before quickly returned and she bowed at the waist, still holding her precious neko, who the boy now knew to be "Kumo-kun," closely.

"Arigatou for finding Kumo-kun. He went missing this morning and when I realized that he must have gotten out of the house I was so scared! Most people don't treat him well because of his eyes, you see, but you must have been playing with him for him to chase you down the street trying to get your attention. He gets attached to... eh?" The girl rose from her bow to find that the boy was walking slowly away from her. He heard her run up to him and turned around with a heavy sigh.

"What?" he asked gruffly.

"Ano... I just wanted to say arigatou for finding him and keeping him safe. I won't bother you anymore. Gomen." She bowed again and kept her head low so he wouldn't see the upset look on her face. He felt a bit guilty for hurting her feelings, but what good would come from emotions like that? Still, though...

"Don't mention it..." he grunted and turned to walk away again. The girl perked up at his comment and smiled softly at his retreating back.

"Ano, could I know your name?" she called after him. He hissed loudly so she could hear and started to jog again. He smirked, in a good mood from being able to play with the neko, and continued his morning run.

The girl started stroking the little neko's stormy fur, lost in thought. "He was nice. Different... but different doesn't always mean bad. We're living proof of that, ne, Kumo-kun?"

"Nyaaa!" The neko wiggled its way out of its owners arms and dropped to the ground. As soon as it regained its balance, it took off down the road after the boy. The girl took chase, shaking her head in frustration. "Chotto matte, Kumo-kun! Not this again! Gah!"

**_END_**

* * *

Well, that's part 1. I have the next few chapters written out but I'm going to wait a while until I post the next one. I need to make sure I have enough in reserve if something comes up and takes up my time. And I need to work on my other stories. First priority is my YYH story, since it's got the most convoluted plot. My Bleach story is easy enough to follow. But, we'll see. Until the next time! Ja mata!!


	2. Fshhhh

**Well, I feel like posting the next chapter, partly because it's a new story and looks bare with just one chapter, and partly because I'm bored. See, I'm already getting off to a good start!**

**START**

"Ohayo, Kaidoh," a very tall boy with thick, square glasses and spiky black hair greeted later that morning. He was sitting on the bench by the door, muttering to himself and moving his fingers in some sort of pattern. His trademark green notebook filled with data on all of the important tennis players was sitting beside him, open and showing a page full of numerical calculations and random notes.

"Inui-sempai," Kaidoh responded shortly. He changed quickly into his shorts and jersey, ignoring his sempai's calculating glances. Shrugging into his jacket, he grabbed his racket and quickly tied his bandana into place and left to warm up. Before the door shut behind him, he heard Inui mutter "He's in a good mood this morning."

The tennis courts were almost empty; only a few enthusiastic ichinen and two other regulars had started warming up. He nodded his head to his fellow regulars, Oishi and Fuji. Oishi was lobbing balls for Fuji to hit back, the former calling out little mistakes the latter was making. As Kaidoh made his way to the court they were practicing on, the ichinen near him scurried away, whispering behind his back about "Kaidoh-sempai's scary face" or something about him being like a snake. He turned a deaf ear to most of it, but it did make him weary of people. But people were weary of him in return, so it worked out well.

"Ohayo, Kaidoh. After stretching you can join us with this. We're just rallying to get the blood pumping. Morning practice was actually canceled, but some people didn't get the message and are here anyway. Afternoon practice will be more serious. Ah, Eiji's here! Would you mind?" Oishi motioned to the ongoing rally with Fuji before stepping away quickly so Kaidoh could slip in. Kaidoh glanced quickly to see Oishi jog to Kikumaru, who was standing with some girl. His attention quickly switched back to the tennis ball. Fuji was hitting irritatingly low balls but Kaidoh was returning them with easy, letting his body warm up to his motions.

"Yaru ne. You seem particularly focused today." He hit the ball just barely over the net, making Kaidoh rush forward to catch it. The next shot was a lob, and Kaidoh ran backwards to return it as well. Unfortunately, a loud noise from the court's gate made him lose concentration and stumble, missing the shot.

"Warui, Kaidoh!" Kikumaru called with a wave. He glared at his sempai and grabbed the ball he'd missed.

"Classes will be starting soon. We should go change," Fuji commented with his ever-present smile. He walked calmly past and out of the gate, greeting the three talking by the entrance to the courts. Kaidoh hissed to himself and followed suit at a much slower pace. Again, those around him moved quickly to make a path for him. He walked straight by, ignoring everyone nearby until he heard something a bit unexpected.

"Fshhh."

: Miki's POV :

Miki was taken aback at the venomous glare she received. _Oh no, I hope I didn't offend him!_ She managed to smile weakly at his now-surprised face. Oishi and Kikumaru were just staring at her as if she'd lost her mind.

"Gomen, demo... you never told me your name. That was the only way I could think of to get your attention." She bowed to him in both greeting and apology. "It's nice to see you again, though I didn't expect it to be this soon. Since we actually go to the same school, don't you think it would be better if I knew what to call you? I'd rather not be glared at every time I want to talk to you." He looked closely at her, to which she gave a shy smile. She wanted to show him that she was genuine in her interest, not teasing.

"Miki-chan, you know Kaidoh?" Kikumaru spoke after a few moments of silence. His face showed pure confusion.

"Ah, so your name is Kaidoh? I should've guessed." At Kaidoh's lost expression she decided to explain. "Eiji-kun told me all about the Seigaku regulars. I know them by name, though, not by face. Though I think I should have guessed you were Kaidoh by your green bandanna..." She began staring off into space, her lips moving slightly in silent muttering.

A gentle nudge brought her out of her daze and Miki noticed that all three of the boys were looking at her oddly. Kikumaru had a sweatdrop and Oishi was observing her in worry. She blinked at smiled sheepishly at them.

"Heh, gomen. I kinda got lost in my thoughts there. But I just wanted to thank you for your help earlier, Kaidoh-san. You know, Kumo-kun even tried to follow you down the path after you left?"

"Hn."

Kaidoh started walking away silently when the morning bell rang as a warning. The boys went into the locker room to change and Miki waited patiently outside. When they left together, she followed behind then contently.

"So Miki-chan, how exactly do you know Kaidoh? You never answered me earlier."

"Ah, wasureta! Kaidoh-san, Shiratori Miki desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!" She bowed while walking, causing several people around her to start staring. "And to answer your question, Eiji-kun, he found Kumo-kun while he was jogging, I assume. Good thing he helped me catch him, too, because somebody was too lazy to wake up and help me," she said in an accusing tone while playfully glaring at Kikumaru. The redhead gave her an innocent look and she giggled.

"Ano," Oishi said suddenly. "Why did you hiss at Kaidoh?"

Miki's eyes flickered forward to the person in question walking in front of her. He seemed to be ignoring everything they were saying. _I guess he's not very social. I should be careful, then, to not talk too much._ She sighed quietly and turned her attention to Oishi.

"When I asked him his name after I found Kumo-kun, he didn't answer me. He hissed, kind of like a snake." She noticed Kaidoh's shoulders tense up and was careful to select her words. "It reminded me of when I met Eiji-kun for the first time. He was always saying nya and ignoring whatever I was asking him, so I just ended up calling him Neko-kun until he calmed down enough to tell me his name. It's probably more offending to call someone "Hebi" than "Neko" and it's not polite, so I decided to just hiss instead. I couldn't really think of anything else to do."

In front of her, Kaidoh hissed quietly to himself. Miki giggled, wondering is he was listening to what she'd said. If so, he might even have a sense of humor!

The two sempai parted with their kohai at a stairwell, but not before Kikumaru hugged Miki and waved frantically as he walked up. Miki and Kaidoh continued to their classroom. It wasn't until they passed all other doors that they realized that they were in the same class.

"Ano, Kaidoh-san?" She saw his head lift slightly in acknowledgment and smiled, knowing he wasn't ignoring her. "Might I ask what your given name is? I understand if you don't want to tell me, it's okay to me if I only know your family name." Hearing his silence she assumed that he didn't want to tell her. She smiled gently at him and walked ahead through the door.

"Kaoru," a deep voice behind her said quietly. It surprised her at first, and she had to turn around to assure herself that it was him who said it. She smiled to herself and took her seat two desks behind him.

: After School:

Classes had been as uneventful as usual and everyone lazily filed out after the final bell rang. Miki was walking behind Kaidoh and went to move ahead of him so she get downstairs faster, but someone suddenly jumped in the way. He was a taller boy than Kaidoh with spiky black hair and vibrant purple eyes._ Gah! Why do I always meet people with cool eyes when I don't have my camera? _The boy was smiling and seemed to be good-natured. When he appeared, though, Kaidoh sighed heavily to himself and hissed.

"Konnichiwa, Mamushi! Are you ready for practice?" He smirked at the nickname. Miki made a surprised noise; it was even more rude than hebi!

"Don't call me Mamushi, you baka," Kaidoh retorted lowly.

"Who are you calling a baka?!"

The two started glaring at each other, yelling insults back and forth. Other students simply walked by, ignoring the display. Miki watched with worry in her eyes as the two started stomping toward the stairs, still glaring viciously.

"Ano," she quietly interjected. Both glanced back at her, their eyes still angry, and she shrinked away from them in fear. The new boy quickly changed his mood, now smirking playfully with a sparkle in his eyes.

"What's this, Mamushi? You got a girlfriend?" Kaidoh's cheeks flushed a deep red and he hissed again, most likely in embarrassment.

"Iie, I just met Kaidoh-san this morning. Sumimasen, demo... who are you?" Miki tried to be polite, but this boy was very rude!

"Ah, Momoshiro Takeshi desu. Everyone calls me Momo-chan, though. Yoroshiku!" He gave her a wide smile. She eyed him apprehensively, not sure what kind of person he was yet.

"Shiratori Miki desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu." It seemed to make Momo a bit uncomfortable when Miki bowed deeply in greeting. She gave him a friendly smile and started walking with the two down the stairs, watching them so another fight wouldn't start. Once they were outside she turned back to them.

"I need to hurry home. I'm sorry I didn't get to talk to you more. Ja mata, Kaidoh-san, Momoshiro-san!" She bowed and quickly left the school to go get Kumo-kun. Before she left, she heard Momo say two things, the second of which made her blush lightly.

"Just call me Momo-chan!" He called after Miki's retreating form. Once she was out of sight, he turned to Kaidoh.

"How did you find someone as cute as her?"

**END**

**How was it? Reviews are love, I've already gotten one review and I very muchly appreciate it! Next one will be out eventually. Tell me what you think!**

**Oh, and can someone tell my why the lines aren't working when you post a chapter? Cause I can't put the page break line thingies in my stories like I used to and it's kinda annoying...**


	3. Always Coming Back

Hey guys! Next installment all done and stuff! I bounce around a lot especially between points of view in this because a lot is happening at the same time, so try to keep up. I hope everything it isn't too confusing. If there are any problems just ask and I'll clear things up. Feel free to tell me how good or bad this chapter is! I love reviews and PMs. They make me very happy.

**SPOILER ALERT**: Fudomine match. Okay, if you aren't this far into the series, I worry. And wonder, what in the world are you doing reading my story? But still, I want to be safe.

Oh, and for reference, I don't own PoT, TnO, or however you wanna say it. Never have... sadly never will.

* * *

**START**

"Kuso! How could I get lost?! Not to mention I'm already really late! Gah, Eiji-kun is not going to be happy!" Miki continued mumbling to herself with frustration as she desperately scanned her surroundings for some sign of where she was. It was well past noon and she wondered if she would even be in time to see any of the matches.

As she passed a ponta machine for the fifth time, Miki groaned and slumped to the ground. Just great! What now?

"Miki-chan?"

She looked up at the voice and sighed in relief at the sight of Kikumaru's blue orbs. He gave her a wide grin and tackled her in a hug, knocking them both to the ground.

"Yokatta! I was wondering where you were! You've missed so many of our matches. We've won them all so far. There's only one school left to play, but they've beaten everyone else and nobody's ever heard of them. But we'll win anyway! We're Seigaku! We-"

"Ano, Eiji-kun?" As if just waking from a trance, he looked wide-eyed at her. "I'd love to hear about your matches, but I think we should go find the others in case the last match starts."

She giggled to herself when his face changed from excitement to realization. _I bet he forgot he even had a match! _With the true spirit of an acrobat, Kikumaru jumped to his feet. Miki stood as well and looked to him for some sign of which direction to go. Before she could object, Kikumaru moved behind her and swooped down under her legs. She made a noise of surprise and quickly stabilized on his shoulders. Her heart calmed a bit when she realized that he had a strong hold on her legs.

"Eiji-kun!" she whined, "I told you to warn me before you do that!" She could practically feel his cheeky grin. With an exasperated sigh she leaned back, letting her body drape down his back with her legs held firmly over his shoulders. _It's a good thing I'm not wearing a skirt today!_ she thought, watching the upside-down world pass by her.

The two walked happily to the court, which Miki realized was where she'd come from before she'd given up. That irked her. _I'm such a horrible navigator!_ On their way back they passed some tough-looking boys walking in the same direction with the name "Fudomine" written on the back of their jackets.

"Ne, Eiji-kun, have you played them yet?" He completely turned around to see who she was talking about, flinging Miki to the side in the process.

"Iie. They're the team that's tied with us and are our last opponents. They're almost completely unknown so we're not sure what we need to look out for, but we definitely won't lose! Nobody can defeat the Golden Pair!" As if to emphasize the statement, he threw his hand in the air and made a victory sign.

"AH! Eiji, the other leg!" Miki was hanging sideways and she felt his grip on her other leg slipping. He quickly corrected his mistake and reset his hold on her legs. She smacked his side for almost dropping her.

"Gomen, Miki-chan! I forgot..." _Geez..._

: Regulars' POV :

"Where's Kikumaru-sempai? The match is about to start," Momo asked the others with a grumpy expression. He was NOT happy about being a reserve in this match. Oishi shrugged with a concerned expression.

"I haven't seen Eiji. I think he said he was going to look for Miki-chan again before the match. He'd been a bit worried since she said she would show up earlier." He looked around for his doubles partner. "Ah, there he... Are those legs?!"

Everyone turned to see the redhead walk into view with a happy smile on his face. Sure enough, he was holding a pair of legs over his shoulders as if it wasn't strange at all.

"Konnichi wa, minna-san!" a cheerful voice called out from behind Kikumaru. Two arms came into view on the pair of legs and Miki-chan pulled herself into a sitting position on his shoulders. "Gomen, I got lost." Kikumaru dipped to put her back on her feet, but knocked into her as he straightened up. She stumbled and almost fell into Momo. Before she fell, a pair of long arms snaked their way around her waist and pulled her back so she was back on her feet. Once she'd fully regained her balance, Miki turned to thank whoever had kept her from falling. Imagine her shock when she came face-to-face with Kaidoh. He immediately let go and made a strange face to himself.

"A-arigatou, Kaidoh-san," she said shakily with a thankful smile.

"Fshhh."

Eiji began apologizing to Miki again, who was laughing at his worried face. Many of the others were watching the scene in amusement, but Momo and Inui were watching Kaidoh with slight surprise. Momo jumped at the chance to tease him when Kaidoh began walking away from the group.

"Oi, Mamushi!" he called with a condescending smirk.

"Don't call me Mamushi," Kaidoh snapped, trying to walk away from his rival as fast as possible.

"Yeah, whatever. Ne, it seems to me like there's something between you and Miki-chan. Could it be that Mamushi has a crush?"

Kaidoh's face flushed in embarrassment and anger and he turned to glare viciously at Momo. "Leave me alone, baka. Every time you open your mouth, you sound even stupider."

Momo looked as if he was about to respond, but the loudspeakers nearby came on. The match was starting, so the two sent each other a final glare and stalked back to the courts to watch their sempai play.

: Miki's POV :

"Ah, where did Kaidoh-san and Momoshiro-san go to?" Miki asked nobody in particular. She'd heard Momo call Kaidoh "Mamushi" again, but didn't see them walk off.

"I told you, Momo-chan is fine."

"GAH!"

The voice behind her startled Miki into jumping forward. Straight into Fuji. She quickly composed herself and spun around to glare at Momo, smacking Fuji in the face with her hair.

"Ah, hontou ni gomen nasai, Fuji-sempai!" She bowed deeply to him, to which he just smiled.

"Daijobu da yo."

Miki narrowed her eyes at him playfully. It's been her goal for two years to get a picture of his eyes, but every time he opened his eyes before she'd been to captivated to remember to take a picture. As if reading her mind, Fuji looked back at her and smirked before walking onto the court with Kawamura. _One day... I'll have a picture to add to my collection! _For emphasis she grabbed the camera hanging around her neck tightly.

"You know you'll never get that picture, right?" Kikumaru asked her. She looked at him with wide eyes.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She looked at him innocently and walked over to Kaidoh, who was leaning against a wall behind the bench.

: Kaidoh's POV :

"Konnichi wa, Kaidoh-san," she said happily. He glanced over at her, grunted, and turned his eyes back to the game. Miki kept looking at him.

"Nani?" he finally asked, frustrated with her stare.

"I don't know if I should ask. It's a bit personal."

"Then leave me alone."

She sighed quietly and started to walk away. He felt bad and started to reach out to stop her. Before he actually did though, he remembered that he was in public and brought his hand back. He watched Miki move to sit on the ground in front of Momo to watch the game. Kaidoh watched her lean back against his knees, swatting at his hand as he started tugging her hair. A thought occurred to him: if he kept upsetting her, why did she always come back? Most people he scared learned to stay away, but not this girl. It was strange. Kaidoh thought back to the day after they had met.

**Flashback**

"Ne, ne, Kaidoh-san!" a cheery voice chirped from behind him. He had been running peacefully, enjoying the breezy morning and the silence of the forest. Until he heard her.

Miki jogged to catch up with him. She was wearing black knee-length shorts and a dark blue sleeveless shirt. Her hair was tied up, except for her right bang hanging over her eye. She smiled happily at him, running right next to him on the path.

"Beautiful morning, ne? It's the first time in a while there isn't humidity. Perfect day for a jog."

He just looked at her strangely before picking up his pace. In his mind he was hoping that she'd tire quickly and leave him alone, but she wasn't having any problem keeping pace, and her breathing was fine. Thankfully she kept quiet most of the way. In fact, she never said anything until they were back at the start of the path, heading home. Kaidoh started walking in the opposite direction Miki was, until she called out to him.

"Ne, Kaidoh-san?"

He turned to her. She seemed a bit apprehensive about whatever she wanted to say, but he waited for her to work out how to say it. Strangely he felt he owed her for her silence earlier.

"Why...," she sighed and shook her head before trying again. "Why does Momoshiro-san call you 'Mamushi'?"

It took a moment for the question to sink in. He definitely hadn't been expecting that question. To him, it was obvious.

"I look like a snake, act like a snake, and my tennis moves are named after a snake..." It was evident in his voice that he thought the question was stupid, but she wasn't affected by that at all.

"You don't look like a snake... and all you do that's snake-like is hiss and stare down your opponent. Besides, it's really rude to call someone something like that."

"We're not exactly best friends."

With that he turned around and walked away. He didn't have time for such meaningless conversation.

Later that day at school, though, Miki was just as cheerful. It was as if he wasn't even rude to her earlier. She just bounced right back into her happy mood.

**End Flashback**

A sudden pressure near his elbow brought him back to reality and Kaidoh realized Miki was next to him again, clutching his arm with wide eyes.

"K-Kawamura-sempai is s-scary..." she managed to say. Kaidoh rolled his eyes at her, but didn't bother trying to shake her off. _She'd just be back in a few minutes._

All eyes turned to the captain of Fudomine as he stood and walked away from the court. Including Fuji's and Kawamura's. Attention returned to the courts when the line judge called an ace for Fudomine.

"Tricky, tricky," Miki muttered to herself, narrowing her eyes at the retreating back of Fudomine's captain. Momo started snickering.

"What are you laughing at?" she asked him in mock outrage.

"'Tricky, tricky'," he mimicked, raising his voice to sound feminine.

Miki leaned forward and smacked the back of his head lightly. Momo, not expecting it, lurched and slipped out of his seat. Kaidoh chuckled through his nose at the fool. Miki turned wide eyes to him, looking at his face with awe.

"Kaidoh-san laughed," she gasped, a twinkle in her eye. She was mocking him! "Ne, ne, Momo-chan, hurt yourself! I want to see if Kaidoh-san will laugh again!"

She received strange looks from everyone sitting around her. "What?" she asked with an innocent expression. "I'm conducting an experiment."

Kaidoh was pretty sure it was the first time everyone on the team rolled their eyes at the same time. Miki pouted and stuck her tongue out at everyone once they turned to continue watching the match.

Out of nowhere Miki gasped and super-jumped over Momo by placing her foot on the back of the bench. She landed right by the wall, her camera held tightly in her hands. Momo was staring at her with a very startled expression on her face, and Kikumaru burst out laughing.

: Miki's POV :

Fuji had opened his eyes. It only lasted a few seconds, but she'd seen it. She knew instantly that this would be a serious match for him. _T__his is my chance!_ She vaguely heard Oishi mention the captain returning, and Inui explained why he'd left, but Miki was paying close attention to the match.

Fuji opened his gorgeous azure eyes to stare intently at the incoming tennis ball.

"Kirei," Miki gasped, her grasp on the camera loosening. Her eyes followed his movements as he performed his first triple counter, Tsubame Gaeshi. The ball dropped on the other side of the net and just rolled across the ground, letting the energy run out. Once the flare of the shot died out, she snapped her eyes back to Fuji, only to find his smiling face back in place.

"KUSO!" she cried, smacking the wall with her palms. "Curse you, Fuji-sempai!!"

Momo and Eiji snickered at her, but quieted when all three received a warning glare from Tezuka. Miki had never talked with Tezuka, but she didn't really want to. He was really intimidating!

"Gomen nasai, Tezuka-buchou..." she muttered, sitting in front of Momo again. He nodded stiffly.

Fuji was smiling at Miki, a taunting smirk at her defeat. She glared back.

"Maybe next time, Miki-chan," he called, taking stance at the baseline for the next serve. She knew he'd show his blue orbs again this game, but it was no use now. Instead she decided to just enjoy the game, and save her pursuits for later.

Tsubame Gaeshi really turned the tide of the game. Seigaku turned from defensive to completely on the offense, pushing Fudomine back. Until their baseline player made his partner move over and looked to his captain.

"Uh oh, this isn't good."

"Why?" Momo asked her.

"They have a secret move or something. For him to need to ask his captain if he can use it, it must be trouble for us..."

The baseliner took stance and flexed his arm tightly. He yelled, watching his target approach. Muscles bulged out of his forearm and his grip on the racket increased. Finally, he swung with all of his might. Miki jolted forward, watching the ball speed towards Fuji.

"Fuji can't hit that," she told Momo quickly, watching Fuji with very worried eyes.

"Don't do it, Fuji!" Oishi yelled, voicing everyone's thoughts. Fuji just watched the ball approach, determined to keep Fudomine from getting the edge. He brought his arm back to swing...

"Fuji!" Kawamura yelled from his right, jumping in the way to take the shot. He strained with two hands to return the ball's immense strength. A loud crack sounded, covered by Kawamura's fierce battle cry. Miki heard it though, and buried her face in Momo's legs. She knew that sound anywhere.

Sounds of surprise came from all around her, but she couldn't stand looking. Momo looked down at her with worry.

"Daijobu, Miki-chan?" he asked. She tried to calm herself down, but her shoulders started shaking. Badly. It only increased when she heard Kawamura call out in pain. She whimpered, clutching his pants tightly.

"Kikumaru-sempai!" Momo called, worried for the distraught girl clinging to his leg.

: Kikumaru's POV :

Kikumaru looked over and jumped up to run over. Miki turned to latch onto him instead and instantly started shaking less.

"Eiji-kun... Kawamura-sempai's wrist..." She make a strangled noise, burying her face into his chest. Kikumaru nodded and rubbed her back gently. He ignored questioning looks from everyone but his doubles partner.

Fuji and Kawamura forfeited the match and left the courts. Miki watched from over Kikumaru's shoulder as Inui sprayed cool-down spray on Kawamura's red wrist. She'd been slightly wrong; his wrist was sprained, not broken.

"What's wrong with Miki-chan?" Momo asked not-too-quietly. She took a deep breath and tried to stop shaking, but didn't succeed. Kikumaru made a face as Momo. Oishi took him aside slightly to talk in a low voice.

"Miki-chan doesn't respond well to other people in pain... It involves her past, but it's not my place to tell everything. All I can say is that it hurts her for others to get hurt." He glanced worriedly at her, knowing he'd have to steal her only source of comfort for the next match.

Kikumaru had just been thinking that. Leaving her in that state was not a good idea, but he had no choice.

"Miki-chan?" he asked her in a soft voice. "I have to play the next match." He really regretted saying anything. She nodded slowly, wrapping her own arms around her body tightly. Her shoulders were still quivering.

Miki stood shakily and took a seat on the end of the bench next to Echizen. Kikumaru smiled slightly at her position. Instead of sitting on the other end with Fuji, who she'd known for years, she decided to sit in front of Kaidoh. _It's good she found someone she's naturally comfortable with._ He smiled and grabbed his racket, following Oishi onto the court. For fun he winked back at her, making her smile slightly. He noticed Kaidoh watching her carefully from behind, and Fuji would occasionally glance down at her. Her shoulders weren't shaking nearly as badly as before, even when he was comforting her. He pouted about that for a second, before turning his attention back to the game. There were still 4 more sets to this match!

**End**

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Yay! Right? Time to say thanks for my reviewers so far... Arigatou!!

**hemiyami:** Thanks for taking an interest! I hope the story only gets better for you over time. You haven't even seen interesting yet, but I can't say more. XD The lines were acting very strange indeed. It's all better now. Maybe it was just something with me. Iunno... Thanks for reviewing!

**Moonlitelover: **I love oc fics too! Not quite sure why, though. Oh well... I'll keep updating as soon as I can! Thank you for the review!

I think this chapter was longer that the other two, so I'm happy. And I got to my planned stopping point. It's not really a cliffhanger or anything, so things are all good. I'll work on the next chapters soon!


	4. The Scar

Hello! It's been a bit longer than I expected because I got caught up in my other story. Gomen, ne? I'll be better, I promise. I hope this chapter makes up for it, because it's a good one! Shall we? Uhm, there's no specific match in this, but it does mention the outcome of the Fudomine match, so there's spoiler potential if you haven't seen it (in which case I suggest you stop my story now). Onward!

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The Kawamura family sushi shop was alive with chatter as the Seigaku tennis club celebrated their victory. Miki watched all of them carefully, particularly Kawamura and Echizen, from her seat in the corner. She decided to turn down sitting with them as it was their victory, not hers. Their laughter and smiles were enough to make her feel better, despite all the tragedy from earlier.

Miki's eyes danced over Echizen's eye patch with worry. She'd worn a similar one years and years ago, though hers wasn't decorated with signatures from friends and peers. Silently her fingers moved to her right eye, hidden by her bang. She lowered her hand before anyone noticed.

Kawamura walked by with a tray full of delicious-looking foods. "Ne, Kawamura-sempai?" Miki asked quietly. He looked around for a moment before he noticed her sitting in the corner.

"Hai, Miki-chan? Why are you sitting alone?"

She smiled up at him. "I'm just watching everyone celebrate. But are you well enough to work? You hurt your wrist pretty badly." Her eyes flickered to his bandaged wrist.

"Daijoubu! My wrist it fine. It's a shame that I couldn't keep playing, though." He turned his head when Momo yelled for more food "Gomen, I have to go. Join the others, ne?"

"Ne, ne, Miki-chan. Kochi!" Kikumaru called to her. She smiled and got up to join him at his table. He held out a piece of sushi on chopsticks and offered it to her. "Try it, you'll like it!" An evil cackle followed this statement and Miki narrowed her eyes at him.

"That's wasabi sushi, isn't it Eiji-kun?" she asked simply. His face fell and he pouted, dropping the food into her outstretched hands.

"Awww, how did you know?" he whined.

She rolled her eyes. "You offered me food. That in itself is reason enough. You never give up something you could eat!" Then she popped the sushi into her mouth and chewed it happily. Everyone but Fuji looked at her strangely and she smiled. "Nani? Fuji-sempai gave me some last year and it was really good!"Kikumaru fell over onto Momo, who rolled his eyes and chuckled.

A hiss from across the room drew Miki's attention to Kaidoh, who appeared to be enjoying his sushi quietly and in peace. Miki grabbed a plate from the table that nobody had touched and carried it over to Kaidoh's table.

"Omedetou Kaidoh-san!" she sang happily. "Do you want some more anago?" He glanced up at her with his sharp eyes before continuing to eat. Undeterred, she placed the plate in the middle of the table and sat across from him. Slowly she began to eat as well. The Kawamura family was truly gifted in making sushi!

A strange feeling make Miki look up. Kaidoh was staring at her with a strange expression. "Nani?"

He hissed quietly. "You make noises when you eat."

"Oh!" Miki exclaimed, covering her face with a hand. She put down her chopsticks and inclined her head to him. "Sumimasen, I didn't know I was doing that!"

"Not like that," he continued quietly. "It's like a... purr. Like you enjoy the food."

A blush creeped over Miki's face and she hid behind her hair. _How do you respond to a statement like that?_ An awkward silence passed between the two as Kaidoh ate, hissing occasionally.

"You know, you do it to," Miki finally said, breaking the silence. He looked up at her in confusion. "Make noises. Every few bites you hiss quietly. I guess we're both like animals, ne?"

He smirked and threw another piece of sushi into his mouth. Almost playfully he hissed and Miki laughed at his exaggeration.

Echizen walked past the table to the door and Miki got to her feet. "I'll be right back, ne? I want to congratulate Echizen-san."

By the time Miki closed the door behind her Echizen was already yards away and speeding his pace. "Ne, Echizen-san! Chotto matte kudasai!" she called, running to catch up with him. He didn't stop or turn, but he slowed to a leisurely walk and Miki started walking beside him.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

"My eye is fine."

There was a pause before Miki replied. "I wasn't talking about your eye."

Echizen stopped. Her face was not playful or happy as it had been in the sushi shop; a serious expression had taken it's place. Slowly, she brought her hand up and swept her bangs behind her ear. Echizen's eyes widened.

A shiny pink scar stretched from her right temple down through her eyebrow and across her eyelid to reach the bridge of her nose. "I wasn't asking how your eye was, I was asking how you were," she repeated. "The damage an eye injury leaves behind is all mental. Here." She held out a tennis ball. "Throw it to me."

He gently tossed in the air to her and watched it land in her outstretched hands. He didn't miss that her right eye blinked violently when the ball fell past her face.

A sad smile graced her lips as she saw recognition pass his features. "I left during your game because I knew what would happen. You're too stubborn sometimes. Just be careful about your eye, okay? People will take advantage of it if they know."

"Does Kikumaru-sempai know about your eye?" he asked in return.

"He knows more than I'd like him to, but yes, he knows. He, Fuji-sempai, and Oishi-sempai are the only ones who know. I don't care if you tell people, but warn me first, please?" She offered him a smile, but his eyes were focused behind her.

"I think they already know."

Suddenly alert, Miki heard noises behind her and turned to see the entire team, save Tezuka, behind her. Even if they didn't hear her talking to Echizen, they could see her scar clearly. Their stares were of hidden pity, to her dislike. She turned back around and noticed Echizen had continued walking and was a block away.

With a heavy sigh she walked back to them. Momo was the first to speak. "What happened to your eye?" he questioned loudly. Someone nudged him in the ribs and he grunted.

"Ano," she began, "I'd rather tell this story another day. Celebrate. Eat. You guys deserve it after how you played today."

Miki waited until everyone returned to the shop and continued eating and having fun before she slipped away and headed home. She didn't mean for everyone to find out that way, nor to put a damper on their spirits. But she had plans for the next day. A green piece of fabric stuck out of her camera bag and she tugged it with a mischevious smile.

"Ah, how food makes one let their guard down."

: The Next Day :

Kaidoh growled in frustration and left his house for school. His hand strayed to his bare head and he ran his fingers through his hair. The trademark green bandanna was missing. Bandanna or no, though, he had morning practice and had to leave early or face punishment.

On his way Kaidoh saw Miki walking to school with an extra bag over her shoulder and her gray kitten sitting on her head. He hissed quietly and walked away.

Miki smiled, hearing Kaidoh hiss, but ignored it and quickened her pace. She had to beat him to the locker rooms or her surprise would fail, and that would be tragic. The bag hanging from her shoulder rustled as she walked faster and Kumo turned his head every which way, taking in the sights.

Fuji and Tezuka were the only people there that morning when Miki arrived. She waved to the two and sent them a smile before stealthily making her way to the entrance to the boys locker room. The door was always open but she waited under the window until everyone had left. Quickly, before anyone else came back, she sneaked in and placed a green bundle in Kaidoh's box before slipping back out. Then she placed Kumo on the ground, fastened a leash around his collar, and went to talk to Fuji to create an alibi.

:: Kaidoh's POV ::

Kaidoh arrived a few minutes later in a foul mood. How could he have lost his favorite bandanna? It was sitting in his school bag at the sushi shop the last time he remembered seeing it. _That baka Momoshiro probably stole it. Bastard._

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Kaidoh-san!" a cheery voice called from across the tennis courts. He glanced up and saw Miki-chan waving at him with a leash in her hands. His eyes followed it down to Kumo, who was weaving himself in and out of her legs in his attempt to capture a butterfly fluttering low to the ground. A small smirk started to form on his face but dropped when he remembered his bad mood. He vaguely noticed Fuji and Tezuka standing beside her before continuing into the locker room.

"Nani?" he muttered when something green sticking out of his cubbyhole caught his eye. Moving closer allowed him to see that it was, not his bandanna as he hoped, but a box wrapped in bright green paper. 'Kaidoh-san' was written neatly on a card attached to the front. Curiously, he moved the paper and opened the box. There, in the box, was his bandanna, folded and clean of the mud he'd gotten on it at the match the previous day. Two cups of yogurt were sitting next to it, still cold, with a small spoon balancing on top. Another note was wedged between the yogurt.

_Omedetou Kaidoh-san! I hope you're not too mad about your_

_bandanna, but I wanted to do something for you as a congratulations_

_for winning the match the other day. Boomerang snake wa sugoi!! But_

_just in case you were upset, I added the yogurt. Did you know Inui has_

_a creepy amount of information about you in his notebook? I'd be_

_worried, but since I'm not on the tennis team he's not investigating me!_

_Well, ja!~Miki-chan =^.^=_

Heat creeped into his face and he was never more thankful that the locker room was empty. The attention she'd given him as of yet was strange enough, but to go this far? He didn't understand it.

"Kumo-kun!" a voice called from outside and Kaidoh looked out the window. Kumo had gotten off of his leash and was pursuing the butterfly down the road while his owner started to chase, only to realize too late that the leash was still tangled around her legs. She fell to the ground and made a loud noise of exasperation.

"Daijoubu, Miki-chan?" Fuji asked with his trademark smile. She glared up at him and gestured to her legs. He chuckled and helped her untangle the leash. Some weird sensation bubbled inside Kaidoh and he found himself glaring at Fuji.

The second she was untangled Miki darted after Kumo and out of view. Fuji and Tezuka shared a glance and started talking about something in quiet voices. Kaidoh shook his head and turned back to the box Miki had left for him. Still confused, he withdrew his beloved bandanna and one of the cups of yogurt. He tied the bandanna around his head and shoved a spoonful into his mouth. He'd never understand, but at least he got yogurt!

"Ohayo, Kaidoh," Inui greeted as he walked into the locker room a few minutes later. Immediately he noticed the discarded cup of yogurt in the trash and the unusual box in Kaidoh's cubbyhole.

"Ohayo, Inui-sempai," Kaidoh grunted before picking up his racket and leaving the room.

"Hmmm." Inui opened his notebook to Kaidoh's section and documented the strange occurrences. He closed his notebook and stood when he noticed a piece of paper on the ground. It was the note Miki left in the box she gave to Kaidoh. "Interesting. Very interesting. If she's becoming such an influence on Kaidoh, I think I need to start gathering some information on Miki-chan."

* * *

Dum dum duuuuum! Hehe, I love Kaidoh. Really I do. Oh, a bit of forewarning, Inui is not really Miki's favorite person, so sometimes the story isn't going to be nice to him. I personally have nothing against him, but it's for the sake of the story. Well, thank the reviewers time, ne?

**hemiyami:** Good, good, her past is supposed to be interesting. I'm so excited about all of the fun I'm going to have keeping her past a secret but giving out hints about it. I'm sorry if your past is bad, too, though. Well, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and thank you for reviewing!!

**Moonlitelover:** Hehe, it's a secret! It'll be revealed bit by bit. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**strawberrypockygrapeponta:** I agree, yay Kaidoh! I was going for intrigue, so I'm glad. It's good that you noticed something is special about Miki's eyes, because they are special, but I can't answer any questions. Patience! You'll see eventually. Thanks for the review!

**Cullen-Girl-4-Life:** I love Kaidoh and he's my favorite character too! I was really sad that there aren't so many Kaidoh stories unless they're one-shots or have him really OOC. I'm trying hard to keep him in character and this will definitely last more than a few chapters. I'm glad you like the story though ^_^ Thanks for reviewing!

Well, until the next post, ne? It might not be next weekend because Friday's my sister's birthday, but I'll try really hard to post another chapter or two before Christmas. Ja mata!


	5. He Killed Kaidoh!

Whew! Gomen guys, but it's been a rough few weeks. My laptop died so we had to send it in to get fixed, and I'm in the middle of midterm exams right now. I hope to be a bit more this weekend, atleast posting the next chapter of my other story. Well, enjoy!

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The bell sounded throughout the school, followed by the chatter of students as they discussed their after school plans with friends. Miki smiled and stretched her arms above her head. As she packed up her books classmates filed past her and out the door into the hallway. Once the room was almost empty, Miki stood and began to leave as well.

"Fshhh~."

"GAH!"

Miki spun around in surprise at the sudden noise behind her. Her hair flew out, uncovering her scar just enough to catch Kaidoh's eyes. He only glanced at it for a moment before bending down and grabbing the bag Miki had dropped in her shock.

"Kaidoh-san!" she whined with a relieved smile. "Bikkurishita! I didn't think anyone was still here. Do you have practice today?" He gave her a stiff nod and held out her bag. "Ah, arigatou."

"Hn."

The two walked down out of the classroom together and began walking down the hallway to the stairs. For some reason Kaidoh seemed to be very tense; he wasn't slouching like he usually did and his eyes kept darting around.

Miki watched him with concern. "Ano, Kaidoh-san?" He started slightly, only adding to Miki's worry. "Daijoubu desu ka? It something wrong?" He shook his head slightly and walked a bit faster as he descended the stairs. Miki hesitated at the top of the stairs and let her eyes follow him down silently. _I wonder what's bothering Kaidoh-san. Was it something I did? _Her eyes widened with realization. _Was because of...!_

'She quickly darted down the stairs and caught up with Kaidoh just as he was about to leave the building. "Gomen nasai!" she called, bowing low at the waist. He turned around and gave her a strange stare. "E-eto, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable... with the bandanna and the yogurt. I... I just wanted to do something as a congratulations. If it bothers you, I promise to never do it again!" Through her hair she saw Kaidoh glance around the school before closing his eyes and placing one hand on his bandanna.

"About that...," he started in a low voice, "Arigatou." And with that he left to join his fellow Regulars in practice.

In a daze, Miki straightened from her bow. "... Did Kaidoh-san just thank me?" she asked aloud to nobody. It took a few moments for this to sink in. With a new bounce in her step and a secret smile Miki followed Kaidoh's path out of the school, turning instead to go home rather than visit the courts.

"Tadaima!" She took off her shoes quickly and ran up the stairs into her room. An ajar door made her slow down as she realized that her brother was not at home. "Hmm, I wonder where Kazue went." With a shrug she continued to her room. The moment she opened her door, her beloved ball of fluff rolled out and started pawing at her legs to be picked up.

"Nya~!" Kumo mewed excitedly as Miki scooped him into her arms.

"Ne, Kumo-kun, want to go watch the boys play tennis? Kaidoh-san will be there and I'm sure Eiji-kun would like to see you again!"

Kumo wriggled out of her grasp and landed on the floor with a very unceremonious **thud.** Before Miki could check to see if he was alright, he was stumbling down the hallway towards the stairs. She grabbed him and his leash and left her house for the school.

"I wonder what Inui-sempai is going to be making the boys do today," she mused, placing Kumo on the ground. He ran as far as possible and jerked back when he reached the limit of his leash. Almost pouting, he walked back to Miki's legs and walked at pace with her.

The familiar tennis courts came into view and Miki smiled at the sounds of the rackets hitting back and forth. Something interesting was happening at the Regular's court so she jogged over just as Kaidoh was walking towards the exit. His face was flushed green and his walking was slowing down. With a dangerous sway he collapsed right at Miki's feet. She stared down in shock at him while Kumo-kun walked around to inspect him.

"Oh my god, he killed Kaidoh!" she shouted, dropping to her knees to inspect the fallen tennis player. _Inui actually killed Kaidoh-san!_ She ignored the people around her telling her to calm down and slowly dragged Kaidoh to the water fountain. With cupped hands she splashed water onto his face, hoping he would regain consciousness.

Kaidoh's eyes snapped open and he bolted upward to dip his head under the fountain. As if he'd been dehydrated Kaidoh drank from the fountain for several long moments before sighing deeply and slouching against the concrete.

"Inui-sempai's juice... is deadly."

Kumo ran up and climbed up Kaidoh's body to reach his face. Miki watched in amusement as Kaidoh and Kumo stared at each other with interest. It was impossible to smother her chuckles when she was Kumo lick Kaidoh's nose and continue his climb to rest on Kaidoh's bandanna.

"G-gomen, Kaidoh-san! Kumo s-seems to like you!" Then she dissolved into a fit of giggles as he glowered at her.

"Iya!"

Cries from the court drew the two's attention (Kumo was messing with the tie of the bandanna) to Oishi, who was running away from Inui as if he was the devil himself. The evil look on Inui's face as he held up a glass of green-brown... liquid? It would scare anybody.

Miki turned to Kaidoh. "Inui plans on killing everybody today, doesn't he?"

He nodded slowly and watched as Oishi suffered the same fate. She sighed and stood. "I'll be right back," she commented before walking around the gate and grabbing Oishi's arms to drag him over to the fountain as well.

"Hidoi!" Oishi choked out as he tried fruitlessly to wash the taste out of his mouth. "That should be illegal!"

"I'm not so sure it's not..." Miki muttered to herself as she helped Oishi lay on the ground. Using a towel she made a pillow for his head and used another damp towel for his forehead.

Kikumaru danced over to the fence a few yards away and started laughing at Miki. "Ne, ne, Miki-chan, I never knew you were such a mother!"

She snapped her eyes up to him and stuck her tongue out. "You know I have to take care of Kazue and Kumo-kun, so you shouldn't be surprised. Besides, I've had to care for you a few times!" Inui called his name and he skirted off for his match with Echizen, but not before making a face at Miki and laughing to himself.

"Kazue?" Oishi asked. Kaidoh turned his head in interest.

"He's my onii-chan."

"You have to take care of your onii-san?"

She made a pathetic face and dramatically said, "Hai, poor little me has to care for my onii-chan, who is in college and has a job. My dearest mother left him in my care when she went away to work in Hong Kong." She smiled at the two. "I run the household, essentially. Kazue mostly stays in his room and does schoolwork or plays video games. He only comes out when I have guests, and that's only sometimes."

"...Golden Power Remix Inui Juice."

Miki blanched at the sight of a turquoise drink Inui was presenting to Echizen. With a heavy sigh she stood up and began walking over to the courts before Echizen had even started drinking. _Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's illegal, but if not, it should be._ **Thump**.

The four sat around the water fountain, the three regulars trying to settle their stomachs and Miki watching them with sympathy. After Echizen fainted she took Kumo away from Kaidoh so he could lay down as well. Echizen had yet to remove his head from under the flow of water from the spout.

"Sou! I meant to ask before but Inui decided to start killing people. Does anyone want to go out to eat later?" The three boys around her groaned and she smiled sheepishly. "Gomen, I'll go ask the others. Ne, minna-san!"

Momo was the first to the fence, hearing the word 'eat' when she addressed the others. "I'll go!" he called with excitement.

She smiled up at him and turned her gaze to the others. "Ne, does anyone else want to go eat with us? It's my treat." Momo made a noise of happiness at hearing he wouldn't have to spend his own money. She made a face when everyone turned to look at her with apologetic faces. "Ah, nevermind. Wakatta. Another time?"

"Are we still going?" Momo asked.

"If you want to. I'm still going and you're free to join me." She gave him a wide smile. "I'd like the company personally."

"Yosh~!" Momo waved and ran back to finish practice and Miki smiled as the three sick Regulars slowly wandered onto the court to continue playing as well.

:: At the Restaurant ::

"Sugoi..." Miki whispered as she watched Momo shovel food into his mouth. He'd bought three hamburgers, two fries, some chicken and two drinks. "How do you not get fat?" she questioned him once he's swallowed a mouthful.

"Tennis practice! I train hard," he told her with a wink. "And I eat just enough for fuel."

"Sou ka..."

"Ne, are you coming to the matches next Sunday?"

"Ah, hai." Miki glanced down at her sleeping neko. "I might be late, though. Kumo-kun has a veterinary appointment right when the first matches are scheduled to start. I hope I don't miss all of the matches completely."

He pouted. "Miki-chan hasn't seen me play yet! I was a reserve for the Fudomine match and you weren't there for the other games."

She gave him a sly smile. "Yeah, I almost missed the Gyokurin team beat Momoshiro-san and Echizen-san at doubles."

"We did not almost lose to them! And I've told you, Momo-chan is fine." She laughed at his indignant look and drank some of her soda. All of a sudden Momo started acting strange; he refused to look at her, but kept glancing at her bang.

"Doushita no, Momoshiro-san?"

A weak glare was all she received as he began fidgeting in his seat and playing with his food. "How-" he began, but cut himself off.

"Nani?" she urged.

"How... did you hurt your eye?" He gave her a tentative glance and shoved his last hamburger into his mouth. He swallowed and said, " I know it's probably a rough subject so you don't-"

"It was a rock." Miki smiled a small, sad smile at him and gently brushed her bangs away from the scar. Absentmindedly she ran her finger down the length of it from temple to the bridge of her nose. "When I was 8 I wasn't very popular at school. Everyone thought I was weird and I got picked on a lot. Some of the younger boys in my class were picking on me and I pushed them down as I ran away. Four of them had onii-chan and they weren't happy with me." She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it," Momo told her gently.

"Iie, daijoubu." She met his eyes. "They attacked me on my way home from school. I started running away but they threw stones at me to stop me. One rough one sliced my eye. I had eight stitches around my eye, four on either side of my eyelid. That was when I started getting home schooled. Last year was my first year of public school since then." A genuine smile made its way across her face. "That was actually also the story of how Kikumaru really came to be my friend. He was the one who found me when I was hurt."

Momo stared at her awkwardly for a moment. Then he lifted a finger and began waving it in front of her injured eye. "Can you see out of it?"

With a laugh Miki nodded and grabbed his finger. "I can see fine. My reflexes are much better now, too. I just twitch when something gets too close."

Something behind Momo glinted with light, catching Miki's attention. She stared out the window at the passing people on the street. _I wonder what that was..._

"Ne, ikou?" Momo asked, getting up to throw his trash away.

"Hai!"

Momo walked Miki home, telling her about the matches with the other schools she'd missed the previous Sunday. She heard about Gyokurin completely losing to Seigaku, and how easy the other teams were before Fudomine. Every so often something Momo said would make her laugh and she would ask questions about moves and such. After a while Momo offered to carry Kumo, who had fallen asleep in Miki's arms. In no time the two were at Miki's house.

"Eh? You live next door to Kikumaru-sempai?"

"Hai, I didn't tell you? That was how we first met. My ball flew over the fence into his yard and I went to go get it. He was just as hyper as he is now."

She carefully removed Kumo from Momo's arms and smiled up at him. "Arigatou for the company today, and for walking me home."

He gave her a wide smile back. "Arigatou for the food. And gomen for being nosy."

"Iya, I don't mind. Mata ashita, ne?" She stepped forward and wrapped one arm around his shoulder, standing on her toes to reach. His shoulders stiffened but he returned the hug awkwardly.

"H-hai. Mata ashita." And he slowly started walking down the street. Miki waved after him until something shiny caught her attention. She blinked and turned to see Inui slinking through bushes across the street.

"Eh? Inui-sempai?" Miki asked herself. "Is he... following me?" She made a face and retreated into the comfort of her home to make dinner for her brother and go to sleep.

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Inui-sempai is kinda creepy. Well, on to my comments for my lovely reviewers, ne?

**hemiyami:** Err... I more meant that she knew something bad was going to happen because Echizen was trying to force the shot. She's not psychic or anything and, evident in this chapter, she didn't hurt her eye with a tennis racket. It's good that you're thinking about the story, though! It makes me happy ^_^ Thank you for the review!

**demonsadist:** Yeah... it's kinda supposed to be a shock. Sorry that I didn't update that soon. Life kinda got in the way. -_-' Forgive? Arigatou for reviewing!

**XWierdLover23X: **Isn't Kaidoh just adorable?! I love him very muchly! I hope you're still enjoying the story. Thanks for the reviews and keep reading! Onegai?

**EmoDiva:** *sigh* Hello Amanda. Back away from my Kaidoh! I claim him. I even have the bandanna! :P I try not to take my time, but procrastination and life makes things difficult _.

Arigatou minna-san for reading! The next chapter will be out.... eventually! ASAP!


	6. I think I broke Momoshirosan

.... Um, hi. I wish to announce that I'm not dead!! *receives death glares*.... Uh, hisashiburi desu ne? I have excuses but I doubt anyone really wants to hear them since it has been over a year. I'll just hang my head in writer's shame and proceed to the story. If anyone still reads it.

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**START**

"Ahh, ii tenki da ne~?" The sun was shining brightly as Miki slowly meandered on her way back to her house. The river to her right was sparkling in the rays from the sunrise and a nice breeze was softly cooling her flushed face. "And the scenery is lovely. A nice change of pace from my usually jogging path."

She cracked her neck and crossed the street to reach the road leading to her house. On her way a strange glint caught her attention as it blinded her for a second. She turned her gaze to where she thought it came from, but only saw the bushes by the woods she normally ran through. _Okashii na...._She waited for a moment to see if the light would come back but all that greeted her was rustling from the breeze and the same scenery she saw every day.

"Must've been the sun," she told herself, though something told her it was something else.

"Miki-chan! Oy, Miki-chan!"

Miki looked up and immediately sighed at her best friend. Kikumaru was leaning out of his window waving something up and down excitedly. "Miki-chan, mitte!!!"

"Hai, hai Eiji-kun. I see you!" she called up to him with an embarrassed smile.

"My imouto-chan finished up my favorite toothpaste! Isn't that rude?"

"Eiji-kun, all of your toothpaste is your favorite toothpaste. You have plenty."

"Demo!!" He pouted and threw the tube down to her. It bounced off her head lightly and landed in her outstretched hand. "You know that's my absolute favorite!"

_He's so childish sometimes.... Most of the time.... All the time...._

"Ah, it's getting close to time. Mata ne Eiji-kun!" she called out, running into her house so Kikumaru couldn't continue his pouting. She dashed inside to change and scooped up her school bag.

"Nya~!"

Kumo hopped his way into the hallway and tumbled into Miki's leg. She smiled down at him and scooped him up.

"Hungry Kumo-kun? Gotta make it quick, I'm almost late." He nya-ed up at her cutely and closed his green eye, as if winking. Miki winked back and laughed to herself.

"Ja ne Kumo-kun! Keep Kazue company today, ne?" she called as she closed the door behind her. The streets were getting busy as shops started opening and children made their way to school. She looked up at Kikumaru's house and saw his bedroom empty. _Early practice, I suppose._

Just as the school's gates came into view at the end of the street, a bike chime made Miki jump. She turned to see Echizen and Momo racing up on Momo's bike. "Ay, ohayou Echizen-san, Momoshiro-san!" she called to them with a wave.

Suddenly Momo's bike started to shake and he yelped as he tried to gain control. "Momo-sempai, what are you doing?" Echizen called as he tried to keep balance on the bars under his feet. The two barely missed hitting the curb and toppling over.

"Ah, daijoubu desu ka?" Miki called worriedly.

"H-hai, daijoubu," Momo shouted back, not looking at her as he passed. She did manage to see his face was flushed and he was biting his lip in concentration. _More oddities today. I wonder if the stars are lined up funny. _

"Nya!"

"GAH!"

The noise scared her enough to make her miss and she met the ground, face first. The rough pavement scratched her cheek and her school clothes got scuffed by the dirt. _Lovely. Just lovely_.

Something furry started prodding Miki in the ear gently as she silently cursed her jumpiness. With a turn of her head a white, fluffy neko came into view. It's face, paws, ears, and tail were all brown and it looked down at her with big, blue eyes.

"Eh? Neko-kun? You must be far from home if you're wandering around here." It watched her carefully as she moved into a sitting position. "I wonder who your owner is... Ah!" An idea struck her and she reached into her bag to pull out her camera. She'd brought it along for tennis practice after class, but helping a missing neko was as good a use as any. She quickly snapped a picture and smiled down at the neko.

"Kawaii! If you don't have an owner maybe you could be a playmate for Kumo-kun. He'd love the company, I'm sure."

"Fshhhh."

And the camera was flung into the air. Miki hopped up and began to dive for it when it landed into Kaidoh's outstretched hands. "Ah, arigatou Kaidoh-san. I was afraid the neko's picture would be deleted when it fell."

"Neko?" he asked quietly with interest. It quickly died and he looked oddly at her. She turned and saw that the neko was nowhere to be seen. _I must have scared him_ she mused sheepishly.

"Saa. Time for class Kaidoh-kun!" she cheered, dancing carefully around him as she described her morning to him, Kaidoh followed quietly along, watching her carefully. He didn't miss the scratches on her face and clothes.

:: After Class::

"Itai yo!" Miki squealed as she put a new bandaid on her cheek. The last one had bled through already, and it still stung to the touch. "So clumsy. And embarrassing. I had to explain to everyone what happened! Don't you think that's embarrassing?"

"Nya~!" Kumo answered his owner. He had on his collar and the leash was already connected, ready for Miki to take him back to Seigaku to watch the last practice before the Prefectural Tournament.

Miki gave him a thoughtful look. "I wonder if that neko ever found its owner. I kept seeing it around the school grounds. I think it got in too. Some people were talking about a white raccoon. I hope he gets home okay."

Kumo blinked up at her and pawed at his leash.

"Hai hai, iku ze Kumo-kun."

Miki and her neko quickly walked back to the school so they wouldn't miss the practice. On the way back to the courts she noticed that Momo's bike was gone. Had he gone home already?

Up ahead Kaidoh was jogging laps around the outside of some of the courts. Kumo saw him and bolted forward, tugging Miki along.

"Yah! Kumo-kun, ochitsuke!" she called helplessly and she rushed to catch up. Someone's racket was on the ground so Miki had to side-step and she lost her balance, wrapping the leash around her body. She managed to stay on her feet for a few moments before crashing to the ground. _Itai!! Mata?_ She shook her head with a sigh and started to get up until she realized she was laying on somebody. Somebody with spikey hair.

"Ah, Momoshiro-san! Gomen nasai!" As soon as she was back on her feet she bowed deeply in apology.

"....."

Momo was staring up at her with a very odd look, like his eyes were unfocused.

"Momoshiro-san?" His expression didn't change. He just slowly picked himself up. Miki looked at him carefully and came to a conclusion.

"Oishi-sempai, kochi kudasai! I think I broke Momoshiro-san...."

Momo snapped out of his daze and his cheeks turned a light pink.

"J-jodan desu yo! Daijoubu. I wasn't really expecting that is all."

"Hontou ni?"

"Hai!" And he gave her a wide smile and winked. "Don't worry about it. Ah, your neko is escaping."

"EH?" Miki turned to see Kumo pulling his leash in the direction of Kaidoh, who was walking to the locker room. "Kumo-kun, come back!"

She finally caught up to Kumo at the door and started to scold him until she heard Kaidoh say "hora" a few times and heard something moving across the floor. She peeked in through the doorway and saw Kaidoh kneeling with a neko toy in his hand and the same neko from earlier watching it and swishing its tail. _Kawaii!!_ she thought with a wide smile and quietly took out her camera. The neko started chasing the toy and making noises while Kaidoh flicked the toy faster and faster. It was really a sight to see.

"Miki-chan!"

Miki turned quickly, afraid of being caught spying, and was greeted by Inui holding his infamous green notebook. "I have a few.... _questions_ that I've been meaning to ask you."

Miki sweatdropped and tried her hardest to keep smiling up at her sempai. _Why do you want to know about me? I'm not a tennis player! _"Ano, I wish I could but I need to go talk to Eiji-kun about tomorrow. Shitsure ishimasu!" She bowed respectfully and slipped away, not missing the creepy stare he gave her as she walked towards her best friend.

"Eiji-kun, how's practice coming?" she asked the acrobat as he lightly rallied with his doubles partner.

"Hyoi!" he called as he cartwheeled effortlessly and returned the ball. "I'm so ready for tomorrow. Makenai yo!"

"Sasuga Golden Pair. And you didn't even need your most favorite toothpaste," she lightly teased. He stuck his tongue out at her and jumped in the air to smash the ball back.

"He's in a good mood today," Miki overheard Inui comment with interest as Kaidoh passed him and the ichinen. _I guess he finished playing with the neko. _

Miki picked up Kumo and carried him back to the locker rooms. Just inside the neko was resting on Echizen's tennis bag with a furry smile on its face. _Now that I think about it, I haven't seen Echizen since this morning. I wonder if this is his neko..._ She carefully scooped it up and carried it to the hill she usually sat on while watching the regulars warm up.

"Now play nice Kumo-kun, and don't bother him until he wakes up on his own," she told her little one as she snapped another collar on the unfamiliar neko. It rolled over in her arms so its stomach was in the warmth of the sun and sighed contently. The three settled down and enjoyed the good weather and the entertainment below.

~ :: Momo's POV :: ~

"Ah, so Echizen didn't come back after all. Eh?" He noticed a group of ichinen crowded around the entrance to the locker room and moved closer to listen to them.

.Ah, there was a raccoon in the clubroom. I saw it! It was white and furry!"

"Well where is it now then?"

"That weird girl has it over there on a leash."

Momo followed the direction one of the ichinen was pointing and saw Miki on the hill playing with her neko and the "raccoon" everyone was talking about. His face flushed a little but he realized. _Ah, Echizen's neko!_

He ran over to Miki, who was trying to run away from the two nekos playfully, and called her name.

"Ah, Momoshiro-san. Is practice over already?"

"Miki-chan, that neko is Echizen's and he's been searching for it all day." Her eyes widened.

"Ah, hontou? Well someone should take it to him! I'd be terrible worried if my Kumo-kun were missing all day."

"I'll do it. He has my bike anyway." She scooped up the neko and handed it to Momoshiro gently. Her hands brushed against his arm as she unhooked the leash. "Yasashii ne, Momoshiro-san."

"Haven't I told you Momo-chan is fine?" he teased as he started to walk away. "Mata ashita Miki-chan!"

~ :: Miki's POV :: ~

"Mata ashita, Momoshiro-san," she called back, putting emphasis on his name. She smiled and shook her head. "Well, Kumo-kun, we should probably be going home too, huh?"

Kumo sat down and pawed her foot lightly. He looked up at her for a moment before turning his head and looking down at the courts. Miki followed his line of vision and saw Kaidoh swinging his racket at an interesting angle. It took her a moment to realize he was practicing his Boomerang Snake. She smiled and sat down again, lifting Kumo into her lap. _Ganbatte, Kaidoh-san._

**END**

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As always, I gotta thank my reviewers. It's been so long since I gave them love!!

**rebekahalana:** "Hissy snake boy"? Well, that's one I've never heard!! I do love him so. Thank you for the review so so very long ago!!

**CRdragonPyro:** I'm sorry the next one took so long v.v Thank you for calling it great work though!!

**EmoDiva:** Amanda, Amanda, Amanda. It really has been a while. I'm actually working on my Aiba story, if you can believe it. I hope to hear from you soon!!

**demonsadist: **Yes, Kazue is supposed to be kind of a baka. But I wouldn't necessarily call it a date.... At least not at this point in the story. Thank you for reading!!

**Gaara's cherry:** Good luck with the Inui juice thing. I hope you save it to the last thing to do before you die, or you might not be able to finish your list! Thanks for the review!!

**Pampers Baby Dry: **Thank you for reading!! Glad you enjoyed it!!

**vampireprincessofempire:** Sorry about the long time between updates. I'm such a horrible person :( Thank you for reviewing though!

**Anna:** Thank you! I'm trying to make her hang out with other characters so she's not all obsessive and stuff, you know? And it's a good time to build on her character! Thanks for reading!!

**darkheart1992:** Sorry I didn't update soon like you asked!! I shall do better in the future!! Arigatou!!

**rubyparker93:** I am continuing, but I wonder if you'll still read? It's been a very long time. Gomen, ne? Thank you for the review!

Alright minna-san, I'll try my very hardest not to drop the ball this time!! Gambarimasu!!


	7. You are NOT my angel!

**Next chapter, yay! About the delay, gomen, ne? Computer issues, as always. Computers hate my guts. But this chapter is longer, so it kinda makes up for it, right? **

**I know, I know, I'm still in writer's shame. v.v**

**SPOILER ALERT: This chapter features the doubles matches from the St. Rudolph tournament. **

**

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**

**START**

The hypnotic sounds of serves, returns, and rallies echoed around Miki as she stumbled around the grounds of the Prefectural Tournament. All of the people and courts looked exactly the same through her weary eyes. She slowly made her way around the crowds, hunting for those familiar white and blue uniforms.

"Ah, Miki-chan, you came!" a voice from her right called out. She recognized the voice of Momo but she couldn't see him completely out of her half-closed eyes. He ran over to her and she vaguely heard a score called out from the court the other Regulars were standing by. "Miki-chan?"

She slowly walked over to the other Regulars with Momo's help and promptly dropped down into a sitting position against the fence surrounding the court. The last thing she heard was "Game and match! Seigaku, 6 Games to 1!"

:: Later ::

Miki woke up a little while later and instantly realized she was no longer leaning against the chain-length fence. _Someone is carrying me on their back? I wonder who..._ She rotated her neck with a satisfying pop and opened her eyes, instantly recognizing the slicked-back hair of Oishi. He was the one carrying her.

"Konnichi wa Miki-chan!" Kikumaru called, suddenly appearing directly in front of her face. Her eyes widened and she shifted her weight away from him, unfortunately putting her off balance and causing her top half to fall backwards. While Oishi still held on to her legs.

He quickly and gently put her legs down and turned to scold his partner. With a groan Miki slowly got to her feet, sending a glare at Kikumaru as she patted dirt off her clothes. "Hidoi, Eiji-kun," she mumbled, slightly pouting.

"Gomen ne, Miki-chan? I was just excited that you were finally awake! You missed a few of our matches again, and I was wondering if you were even gonna be awake for the last one today! Forgive me? Onegai?" He looked at her with pathetic eyes and she rolled her own playfully before nodding to her childish sempai.

"Hai, hai, daijoubu. So where is everyone?" It just occurred to her that Kikumaru and Oishi were the only Regulars nearby.

Oishi shrugged. "We're between matches and it's quite hot outside, so I'd imagine everyone is cooling down before the last match. Eiji and I were on our way to the drink machines anyway. Would you like to come?"

She shook her head and hooked her thumbs through the straps on her bag. "Iie. I want look around a little bit first. Maybe find some of the guys before the next match. Besides," she smiled widely and pointed to the camera around her neck, "I still have a mission to accomplish. Ja ne, Oishi-sempai, Eiji-kun!!"

The grounds were crowded with players and supporters of schools from all around the area, many of which Miki had never even known existed. She passed a few members of the Fudomine team lounging after a win and waved briefly to them before continuing on her way. The roster board was up ahead and Miki decided to check the long list of names and pairings to see who her boys were playing next.

"St. Rudolph? I've heard of them before, I think. But where?" With a shrug she continued to walk around. A white cap passed her at eye level and she smiled to herself. _Ah, finally a familiar face. Hat. Whatever._ Echizen was passing by with two big bags of groceries and had his posse of ichinen in tow. She started towards them, figuring the match was about to start and not wanting to be late, until a very familiar person came into view. Miki's eyes widened in excitement. _YUUTA!!_

In a few moments the confrontation was over and Miki smiled to herself, watching Yuuta glare at his retreating opponent. Echizen really was cocky for a first year, but he had a right to be. Just as Yuuta was about to go on his way, Miki popped out from behind the pillar and greeted him.

"Yuuta-kun~!" He looked at her for a moment, and turned the other way to make his escape. Miki pouted and ran up beside him. "Oh come on Yuuta-kun, don't be so mean. You know you're happy to see me."

"Not now. I have to prepare for my match. I'm going to crush your first year." Hatred flared in his eyes and she frowned at him. It hurt her to see him so angry at his brother but it was none of her business.

She grabbed his arm and gave him a weak smile. "Enjoy the match, ne Yuuta-kun?" Before he could answer she left in the direction Echizen and his friends had gone.

:: Even Later ::

"You have to be kidding me," Miki groaned loadly, staring at the giant board she'd consulted a while earlier. This was the third time she had passed it, trying to find the new court Seigaku and were playing at. It probably would have been a good idea to ask Oishi before she left, but that hadn't occurred to her. "I'm gonna miss the matches and Eiji-kun is going to kill me. Joy."

She stared hopelessly at the board for a moment and turned to continue her search when she noticed a member of the tennis team walking by. _Must not be a Regular, or he'd already be at the court._ She watched him for a moment before realizing he would lead her to the court she wanted.

Just as she expected, the stranger went directly to the court her boys were playing at. She smiled in relief and looked the stranger over so she could remember to thank him later. And her entire body went cold. He was short, maybe a first or second year, with shaggy red hair and pitch black eyes. She knew he couldn't be who she first expected because he was from , but he had to be her old friend's younger brother. It shook her nerves to even see someone look so closely to him so she quickly walked to her team's side of the court for comfort. Without a word she glued herself to the fence between Kikumaru and Inui, not even noticing the game going on before her eyes.

For the longest time Miki just stared off straight ahead of her, watching the boy and remembering the pain his older brother had caused her. Not one play either team made registered while she was caught in her reverie. She subconsciously reached up under her bang and ran her fingers down the scar. The movement caught Kikumaru's attention; he hadn't even realized she was there.

"Ah, Miki-chan, when did you come back?" Silence met his answer and he tilted his head to get a better look at her face. Her pale skin made him frown and he gently nudged her. She stared up at him with startled eyes. "Doushita no, Miki-chan?"

"Azuma-kun," she whispered, tilting her head down. "His brother's here for St. Rudolph."

"Daijoubu?"

She gave him a shaky smile and nodded. "Hai, just a little shocked. I'll be fine. But I have no idea what's going on with-"

The tennis ball arched towards the fence and Miki watched blankly for a moment before gasping and grabbing her camera to capture the moment it curved from under the judge's chair back towards the court.

"Sugoi Kaidoh-san!" she yelled, capturing the dumbfounded faces of their opponents with her camera, along with the stance he used to make the shot. The crowd soon realized what had happened as well and broke into cheers and amazed conversation.

"Mada mada dane."

Everyone sharply turned to Echizen, who was lounging in the shade and drinking a soda. "That's incomplete right? If it were singles, it would have been counted out," he commented loftily with a snarky smirk at Kaidoh.

Miki stuck her tongue out at him and turned back to Kaidoh, but Momo's expression caught her attention first. The intensity of his face sent shivers down Miki's spine and she quickly snapped a picture of that as well. _I wonder how Momoshiro-san will respond to that. It's hard to top such an impressive shot._

The very next ball gave her an answer as Momo smashed a chance ball hard enough to make it bounce up and out of the court all together. Instead of taking a picture of that, however, Miki decided to capture the funny dance the duck-like opponent was doing in frustration. He was so funny!

The momentum shift was wonderful and the boys were actually playing well together. For a while. Until Kaidoh hit another Boomerang Snake and the two got in an argument over who was holding the other back or some nonsense like that. It made Miki giggle and she had long forgotten meeting the stranger from St. Rudolph. She knew it was bad that the two didn't get along, but their arguments were so pathetic that she couldn't help but find them hilarious.

With a smile in her eyes and her camera at the ready to capture any other great shots, Miki watched in excitement as Kaidoh hit yet another Boomerang Snake that was finally returned. Momo jumped high in the air to hit it and smashed it... rebounding it right into one of the opponents' faces.

The camera fell to the ground and the lens broke as Miki dashed out onto the court. She ignored the surprise calls about her entering during a match and hopped the net to get to the injured player.

"The ball... bounced, dane," Yanagisawa muttered before falling unconscious just as Miki reached him. His eyes looked up at her for a second and rolled back into his head.

"O-oy, Yanagisawa, Yanagisawa!" his partner called as he ran over to help.

"Someone get me an ice pack!" Miki called as she gently moved his head with shaking hands. He had a nasty bruised impression where the ball had slammed into his cheek. Others started to come over to see what happened and Yanagisawa muttered about seeing stars. Seeing nobody was bringing her an ice pack Miki huffed and ran over to the bench to get one from her bag. She saw a piece of glass near her camera and knew it was broken, but immediately returned to Yanagisawa's aid. Tenderly, she covered the now swollen bruise with the pack and held it in place as two other players carried him back to their side. It took all of her power to keep her hands from shaking so she wouldn't put too much pressure on his face.

"Do you mind if I continue to help?" she quietly asked Kisazaru. He glanced at her and noticed the streams of tears running silently down her cheeks. He solemnly nodded and looked down at his partner with worry. "I'm Shiratori Miki, by the way. Don't worry, Yanagisawa-san will be fine."

"Ha? Wait, I can't accept this win!" Momo yelled, making a fuss about the win. _I'll scold him later. He's __handling it badly as it is,_ Miki thought to herself with a small smile. The two players put Yanagisawa down on a nearby bench and Miki knelt down beside him to dress the wound on his face. She vaguely heard his teammates talking about the match but was more focused on taping down the gauze. Her hands were shaking and the tape kept getting stuck to itself because of it. Frustrated, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment.

A can crushing broke her concentration as the team manager approached them. He shot Miki a cold look and turned to Kisazaru.

"Mizuki," the buchou greeted.

"Don't make excuses. You could have won if you followed my instructions. You embarrassed all of us." He stared Kisazaru down and turned to the team's buchou.

Miki blocked the rest of what he said out. _How dare he talk to them like that?! Yanagisawa-san was knocked unconscious! How much more dedicated can you be to your team? _She turned back to Yanagisawa before she snapped at the cold, arrogant manager.

"What is that girl doing over here?" She felt his glare on her back but refused to look at him.

"She's just fixing up Yanagisawa."

"You believe that? She's from the other team. She could be spying on us. Oy, go back to your own side."

She turned and gave him a nasty glare. "If you're scenarios are so great then it wouldn't matter anyway, now would it? But if you're so worried, I can stay on this side for the entire game. Now leave me alone, I'm trying to help your teammate." His shocked expression gave her a little bit of pleasure but she immediately felt bad for being so rude, even if he deserved it.

"Will St. Rudolph's and Seigaku's Doubles 1 please assemble?"

While getting a new ice pack for his cheek, Miki looked over and watched her boys enter the court. In an instant she realized something was wrong. The pair seemed very confident. Interested and worried, Miki placed the ice pack on Yanagisawa's cheek and walked over to the fence next to Kisazaru.

He nodded to her briefly and returned his attention to the game. They both watched Seigaku lose two straight games and Miki noticed Kikumaru breathing heavy.

"They're attacking Eiji-kun, aren't they?" she questioned quietly, watching both players return to Kikumaru. She watched him hit balls irregularly and rubbing his eyes or panting heavily after each shot. "Why do you all play the tennis your opponent is worse at instead of playing what each of you is best at?"

"Eh?" This question seemed to shock Kisazaru and Miki gave him a long, serious look before returning to Yanagisawa. He was muttering something very quietly, but had yet to wake up.

Miki smiled to herself when she heard Oishi's racked scrape along the ground. It was a sad smile though. The Golden Pair was amazing, but Kikumaru just didn't have the stamina. The longer the match was drawn out, the worse it would be.

Suddenly, Akazawa screamed loudly out of frustration and dropped down to tie his shoelaces and probably think about what to do. It shocked Miki, but not as much as what she was about to hear.

"Akazawa you bastard! They're attacking as a pair! This isn't singles! Understand, you bastard?!"

All was silent, save gasps from the crowds and a few things being dropped to the ground in surprise. Everyone's attention was on Kaneda, who had just screamed this insult to Akazawa in the middle of the match. _Ahh, bikkurishita! They're both a little tense, I suppose, _Miki thought, holding her hand over her chest. She looked over at Yanagisawa and saw one of his eyes was open, but the other remained closed. She drew closer and looked down at him.

"Yanagisawa-san? Daijoubu desu ka?"

"... t-tenshi..."

"Eh? What did you say?" Miki bent down further to hear but he didn't speak again. She sighed and noticed Kisazaru had come over. "I think he said tenshi. He may be halucinating. He was hit pretty hard."

"Ah. That was a powerful smash. I didn't know someone in this league could hit a smash like that."

"Sasuga Momoshiro-san. He and Kaidoh-san fuel each other, apparently. After Boomerang Snake I'm not surprised that the strength of his shot increased too."

The two waited a moment to see if Yanagisawa would speak again, or maybe even regain consciousness, but he remained asleep with one eye open. It was a creepy sight.

Something was going on with the match so they both made their way back to the court. It seemed like the roles had completely switched with the Seigaku team. Oishi was now the one returning all of the shots. It seemed Kikumaru was asleep on the court. Miki rolled her eyes at her sempai. _I told him to stamina train with me or to come on my runs, but he turns me down. And now he's napping during a game. What a baka._

Miki had seen him do this before and knew he would be fine, but she was worried about the outcome of the match. It was incredibly hot outside and the power nap probably wouldn't be enough to last until the end of the game.

Two games later Kikumaru finally woke back up to pull of an amazing shot that kept Seigaku alive in the match. "Eiji-kun no baka!!" Miki yelled at him through the fence. "When this match is over you're going on a run with me or I'm going to get your sisters to throw away all of your toothpaste!!"

"Miki-chan hidoi yo!!" he called back with a pout and sent her a sheepish smile, which she returned.

Soon enough the Golden Pair had come back and tied the game, leading to a tiebreak. Unfortunately, Kikumaru didn't have the stamina to continue and they lost their match. Miki watched sadly when Oishi helped carry his partner off of the court.

"Ahh, my face hurts dane," Yanagisawa moaned, just waking up.

"Kisazaru-san, he's awake!!" Miki called and leaned over Yanagisawa to check him over. "Daijoubu desu ka, Yanagisawa-san?"

He stared blankly up at her for a moment before roughly pushing her shoulder away and blushing. "Who are you? You are NOT my angel dane!"

Miki and Kisazaru were both startled by his actions and looked at each other in confusion. "Yanagisawa, what are you talking about?"

"My angel dane! The beautiful goddess that cared for me dane! Where did she go?"

"Ano... Shiratori-san took care of you," Kisazaru told him, pointing at Miki. "I think you hit your head too hard."

Yanagisawa frowned. "I guess I did, thinking this girl was my angel. How sad, dane."

Taken aback, Miki couldn't even think of anything to say. _How do you respond to something like that?_ Finally she just nodded to Kisazaru and walked away to find the Seigaku team.

She came across Oishi and Kikumaru and told them about the odd experiences from 's side. Kikumaru tried his hardest not to laugh and Oishi was uncomfortable how rude Yanagisawa was, but Miki was fine with it all. After all, she didn't really want to be his "angel" anyway.

"Ah, sou da! Miki-chan, did you find Azuma-san while you were over there?" Kikumaru asked from nowhere. Miki froze.

"I completely forgot he was over there. I hope he didn't see me...." She frowned and looked down. Something shiny was just a few feet from where they were sitting. She followed it to the edge of the court and saw her broken camera, now requiring a new lens. She picked it up and hung it back around her neck with a sigh. Then she started looking around the area with a fierce expression on her face.

The Golden Pair watched her in confusion. "What are you doing Miki-chan?"

"Looking for Momoshiro-san," she responded, starting off in a direction. "He owes me a new camera lens!"

**END**

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YAY! Okay, so reviewer appreciation from the previous chapter, as always. Only two, but I'm actually surprised for any since it's been so so long.

**CRdragonPyro:** Thank you! ^_^ I'm glad you're enjoying the story and that you like my OC. I'll try to have the next one out soon!! Thank you for the review!!

**darkheart1992: **I will update when I can! Hopefully it will be soon though, this story is really fun to write. Thank you for continuing to read and I appreciate the review!!

Until next time, lovely readers who take mercy on me! It shall be the rest of the matches!!


	8. He's been looking for you, Miki

**Next chapter, next chapter! Our internet has been finicky but I can post so it's okay! Well, let's get on with it, shall we?**

**Oh, and I'm not sure if anyone noticed, but in the last chapter a lot of the "St. Rudolph"s randomly disappeared. I only noticed a few days ago and went back to fix them. I hope that doesn't happen with this chapter!**

**SPOILER ALERT: This chapter features the concluding matches of the St. Rudolph tournament/game thingy.**

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**START**

"Momoshiro-san! You baka! You owe me a camera lens!" Miki called, stomping towards her two fellow second-years and glaring into his purple orbs.

"E-eh?" The fire in her eyes made him shrink away in confusion and unease. He glanced over to Kaidoh for some kind of help but only received a look of amusement.

"If you hadn't been so reckless then Yanagisawa-san wouldn't have been injured and my camera wouldn't have been broken! It's your fault so you have to get me a new lens!"

He started blankly at her for a second before she lost her composure and chuckled to herself. To show that she was joking she gave him a wide grin and winked. "Jodan~."

Realization finally hit him and he smiled back at her. "I knew it all along."

"Sure you did, baka." Kaidoh chimed in.

"Who are you calling baka, Mamushi?"

"You, you idiotic powerhouse!"

"Boys! Boys! Calm down!" The two had each other by their jacket collars and were exchanging vicious glares. "Goodness, you two have no self control. I think the heat is getting to you two more than usual. Just relax and enjoy the match. I think it's-"

"We will now start the Third Singles match between St. Rudolph and Seigaku," an announcer said over the intercom.

She smiled at the two boys. "Told you. Come on, let's get back."

Momo returned the smile and Kaidoh just hissed and fell into step behind the two. _They are such children. But they're both great tennis players._ Miki turned the camera over in her hands

"Oh, I forgot! I got some great pictures from your match earlier. You know, before Momoshiro-san broke Yanagisawa-san's face," she teased, sticking her tongue out at him.

He blushed and made a frustrated face. "It was an accident! He should have moved."

"Stupid powerhouse," Kaidoh muttered in the background.

"What was that?"

"AS I was saying," Miki said loudly, cutting off any type of argument before it could start again, "You both played very well. I'll give you both some copies of the pictures once I develop them. I have pictures of both of your best moves, especially your Boomerang Snake, Kaidoh-san. It's just a shame that I can't take any more pictures from the match. I have a feeling Singles 3 in particular will be very entertaining."

"Why especially Mamushi's shot?" Momo pouted. Kaidoh bristled behind him at the name but didn't respond.

Miki gave him a blank look. "Kaidoh did his Boomerang Snake multiple times. You only hit two Dunk Smashes, and the second one was tragic."

"...Oh."

They reached the court as Echizen and Yuuta greeted each other at the net. Miki started off to the other side of the fence. "Oy, Miki-chan, where are you going?" Momo asked.

She made a face. "Mizuki...-san accused me of trying to spy for Seigaku so I offered to stay on their side for the game so I couldn't help you guys. It's silly to me, but I said I would. Ja ne!"

Mizuki's eyes followed her as she rounded the fence and took a place next to Kisazaru and Yanagisawa. She was glad to see Yanagisawa was awake and his face didn't seem too badly injured. The two lefties on the court shook hands and everyone around them broke into whispers about the pairing, particularly about "Fuji's otouto." Miki noticed Yuuta getting flustered by everyone making the connection and saw him glare at Fuji. Then Echizen had to go and open his mouth.

"Ne, you're Fuji-sempai's otouto right? I wonder who is stronger. This should be fun!"

"He provoked Yuuta! He's a very scary rookie..." Kisazaru murmured in wonder.

"Dane."

Miki rolled her eyes both at Echizen and the spectators' reactions around her. It wasn't in anyone's best interest to get Yuuta angry, especially his own, and everyone seemed to be fueling the fire. Thankfully the whispers died down and the match started on Yuuta's serve.

From the first serve and return Miki could tell it would be a good match. Yuuta seemed confident in his shots and Echizen was being challenged, but she knew he would hold his own just fine. Apparently she wasn't the only one, though, as right in the middle of the rally one of the female ichinen on Seigaku's side suddenly yelled, "No matter who the opponent is, Ryoma-sama will win! Ryoma-sama!" and had to be shushed by her friend.

"That girl is annoying dane," Yanagisawa commented, rubbing his aching head. Miki and Kisazaru nodded in agreement.

The three watched in silence as Echizen tried his Twist Serve, which Yuuta returned beautifully with his Rising Shot. Miki smiled at her friend and the progress he made, but quickly frowned when she realized he was glaring at Echizen. Then she noticed Echizen's smirk. _So Echizen is evaluating his game. Maybe a little bit of a trial would be good for Yuuta. _

"Yuuta really hates his aniki, doesn't he?" Kisazaru commented.

Miki shook her head. "Iie. He loves Fuji-sempai. He just can't stand what he is because of Fuji-sempai."

Yanagisawa gave her a skeptic look. "And how would you know?"

"I've known Yuuta since before he went to Seigaku. Since before Fuji-sempai was known as a tensai." She smiled to herself, remembering they day Kikumaru first brought Fuji and Yuuta home to meet her. It was one of the only times she saw Yuuta smiling, especially up at Fuji. "Yuuta and Fuji have a strong bond, but as of now Yuuta is always being called Fuji-sempai's otouto. Nobody who doesn't know him calls him Fuji-san or Yuuta-kun. He doesn't have the chance to be himself."

Kisazaru looked at her with interest. "How do you know so much about him?"

She gave him a weak smile. "I saw him become miserable over time and managed to get him to confide in me. After all, he knows my biggest secret. It's only fair that I know about him."

"Nanda? This doesn't feel right," Yanagisawa suddenly said. He had a point, as Echizen returned Yuuta's Rising Shot with one of his own.

"What amazing speed!"

Miki smiled and plugged her ears when Echizen started talking. She knew he was just goading Yuuta and didn't want to be distracted from the actual game. Echizen returned it again, scoring another point for Seigaku. He had a very confident aura around him that Miki would have loved to capture on camera.

And, of course, the whispers started up yet again. _Poor Yuuta. Show them what you can do. Show them who you really are. _But the talk around him finally got to him and his eyes took on an eerie ferocity as he crouched down and extended his left arm straight up. Miki saw the danger behind the stance and looked over at Mizuki. An eager smile was on his face as he watched Yuuta intently.

Yuuta spun his body sharply and rocketed the ball over the net and into the fence on the other side of the court. The force behind the shot had to be drawn from more than muscle. _That bastard! How could he let Yuuta do that, much less encourage him! A teenager should never do a Twist Spin Shot. Never. _The look Miki saw on Fuji's face told her that he knew as well. There was venom behind his beautiful blue eyes. They locked eyes and she knew what he had made up his mind to do.

With shaky hands Miki reached up and gripped the fence. Kisazaru and Yanagisawa gave her confused looks but she shook her head. Of course they wouldn't know. Mizuki would make sure nobody on the team knew how harmful the Twist Spin Shot could be.

She hardly noticed Echizen evolving to counter the shot; she was counting each time he hit it, wondering how many times he had in the past and how many more his bones could handle. It wasn't until Echizen countered with the Drive B that Miki relaxed her grip. Yuuta was enjoying himself. At the end of the match he even smiled.

The second Yuuta stepped out of the court Miki ran up and hugged him, careful to not touch his shoulders. Before he could say anything she let go and walked around the fence to go see Fuji before he started the match.

Fuji watched her with opened eyes and a very serious expression as she walked over. "You know," she whispered. "You know what he's making Yuuta do." He gave her a knowing look and took of his jacket and sweatpants.

When he reached down into his bag for his racket he asked, "Tezuka, do you want to play?" Miki looked over at Tezuka, who remained stoic as usual. She could see the understanding in his eyes, though, and knew he was aware of the Twist Spin Shot as well. "I'm sorry, but we won't get to you this time."

Miki walked with him as he made his way to the court entrance and continued to the other side when he went in. She gave the entire St. Rudolph team a very flat look. "Fuji-sempai is going to destroy Mizuki." And with that she walked away from the entire court to sit in the grass under the trees with her legs pulled to her chest.

_Are all of Seigaku's games so violent?_ she mused to herself as she looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful day but it was doing nothing for her nerves. _I understand that they're willing to do anything to win, but I can't stand to see them getting hurt. Even strangers like Yanagisawa-san. It's terrible._

Point after point, game after game, Miki heard the referee call out Seigaku's losing score. _So this is how he'd going to do it. Harsh, but deserving, I suppose. _She was far enough away to not hear the conversations but could hear the chants of "Mizuki, Mizuki" very clearly. She glanced over at the court but saw something white close by.

"Ah, Echizen-san."

"Miki-chan-sempai." Miki stared blankly at him, not being used to being called "sempai." Nevertheless she smiled at him.

"Good game Echizen-san. Arigatou." He gave her a slightly confused look. "For getting Yuuta to actually enjoy playing tennis." He nodded and turned his attention back to the game.

"Fuji-sempai changed his racket."

Miki nodded. "The match is about to be over." She watched as Fuji started speeding up, hitting the shots he let slip by just minutes before. Before anyone could realize, Fuji had caught up to Mizuki's score and was making the annoying manager break down piece by piece.

"Hyotei," Echizen mumbled. Miki didn't notice them walk up and gave them a quick glance over before her attention was drawn back to the courts.

Mizuki had dropped to his knees and yelled out in anguish. He had lost more quickly than he had gained his vast lead. Echizen stood and walked over to Yuuta.

"With everything going on, it turned out to be a good match," he said lightly, the continued to walk. Yuuta smiled. Miki sneaked up behind him.

"Aww, kawaii!" she squealed, poking his cheek. His smile dropped and he squeezed his eyes shut in annoyance. "Oh come on Yuuta-kun, don't be so mean." She tugged on his sleeve to get his attention. "I'm glad you had a good time today. And maybe you could be a bit nicer to Fuji-sempai?" With a tight squeeze to his arm she walked away to rejoin her boys and congratulate them on their victory.

"Miki?" a voice called behind her as she was nearing the team. She turned, thinking it was only Yuuta, and came face-to-face with the player from St. Rudolph she had seen earlier. Her blood froze as she realized and fear took over. Her hands started shaking, but she managed to keep her voice steady.

"Azuma-kun," she greeted as kindly as she could. After all, she had no trouble with him.

"I thought I saw you earlier!" He gave her a genuine smile and she calmed down. "So you're at Seigaku now?"

"And I see you've joined the St. Rudolph team. Congratulations, I heard they only really recruit."

His expression fell and he gave her a sad look. "They took me because of aniki. He's been out since the beginning of the school year so they passed over trying to get him." He looked down and said in a very quiet voice, "He's been looking for you, Miki. He's still mad at you for last year. Really mad. Be careful."

Fear suddenly entered his eyes and Miki turned around to see Kaidoh standing just behind her, staring daggers at Azuma. Despite the warning, it took a lot for her to not start laughing at his expression. Azuma squeaked out a quick goodbye and ran back to his team. Miki turned and Kaidoh gave her a look.

"That was Azuma Kei. He's an ichinen at St. Rudolph. His onii-san was a friend of mine at my previous school."

"Fshhh," he hissed and turned to walk away, as if he had no interest.

"Kaidoh-san!" Miki called to him. He turned back to her. "Arigatou." He nodded and started walking, Miki keeping up in his shadow.

On the bus ride home, Miki sat in a seat to herself and looked around at her boys. Fuji, sitting alone near the front and staring out the window, deep in thought. Echizen and Momo sleeping against each other. Kikumaru and Oishi were off somewhere, probably talking about their loss. Tezuka and Kawamura were lightly talking to each other. And next to her, Kaidoh was fast asleep as well, hissing as he exhaled deeply. She smiled at his sleeping face.

"Ah, Momo-chan-sempai is drooling!"

"Kaidoh-sempai is too!"

"Forget Momo-chan-sempai, waking Kaidoh-sempai would be bad!"

The ichinen were talking incredibly loudly and Kaidoh woke up to glare at them before falling back asleep almost instantly and slipping to the side, almost touching Miki. She backed away to give him more room and enjoyed the beautiful sunset as they made their way home.

**END**

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Okie dokie, time for reviewer love! I absolutely love reviews. They make me so happy!

**CRdragonPyro:** Well it would be boring if Miki just stood around and watched, wouldn't it? Besides, I think a lot goes on that we don't get to see so I'm trying to give it a different point of view. I'm glad it makes you laugh though. Thank you for the review!

**darkheart1992:** I thought it was. Personally, I wouldn't want to be his angel anyway :P Thanks for reviewing!

Next chapter will be up as soon as possible. A little bit of Echizen and Fuji fun is in store!


	9. The Perfect Opportunity

**Ahh, even in writing there are fillers. Such a shame. But that's where you find the little things that make more action-y stuff make sense! I apologize that there isn't much action in this, but it is important plot-wise and sets up future chapters. No tournament spoilers in this chapter either. Enjoy! **

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**START**

_12,000 yen? There's no way I can afford that until next month. I'm going to miss so many great picture opportunities!_ Miki sighed to herself and let her expression fall into a pout. The entire day before was spent shopping around stores in Tokyo for the cheapest lens for her camera, but none of them were within her financial grasp. She had missed watching the Seigaku tennis team practice yesterday as well, so it was a very depressing day.

"Well, I suppose it's time to pull out the demon, ne, Kumo-kun?"

"Nyaa~," he purred, rolling over onto his back. He restlessly swatted at the air and flicked his tail back and forth, waiting to be let outside. Miki giggled at him, then rolled her eyes as she pulled her old digital camera out of its case. It had been a good year since she had gotten her other camera and retired the digital. _Since I was friends with Azuma-sempai, actually. He helped me pay for my film camera._

Kumo swatted at her shoestrings and brought her back from her memories. Before she could start reminiscing again she attached Kumo's leash, scooped him up in her arms, and left her house. _I'm late for their practice anyway! I hope it's a good one, even with this old thing I want good pictures!_

A while later Miki rounded the changing room and was almost stampeded over by the tennis club members running laps. She carefully walked on the outside of their makeshift track and reached Inui and Ryuzaki-sensei.

"Training for the Tokyo Prefectural Semi-Finals?" she inquired the dataman.

"Hai. And I just prepared a revitalizing and stimulating drink for the team. It's called Penal Tea." His opaque glasses took on an ominous glint. "Would you like to try?" he offered in an almost sinister tone. Miki eyed the thick red liquid he was holding out to her and quickly shook her head.

"I-iie. Henki henki," she forced out with an uneasy smile. Once Inui had turned his attention back to his stopwatch and the runners Miki sighed in relief.

The Regulars ran by, leading the pack, and Miki noticed Echizen had bandages on his face. She waited for Inui to stop torturing the slower runners with his ungodly creation, then asked him about it.

"Ah, Echizen was injured yesterday by a player from Yamabuki Chuu names Akutsu Jin." He reached over to the table with one hand and picked up his notebook. Miki sweatdropped. "According to my data, right before practice yesterday while Arai and one of the ichinen were performing their club duties, Akutsu came to the court and started hurting Arai. Echizen came and Akutsu used his racket to hit sharp rocks at Echizen's face." He snapped his notebook closed and quickly started handing out another round of his inherently evil concoction to those who did not meet his time limit that lap.

"Is Echizen-san alright?!" she inquired urgently.

He looked at her for a moment, then took his notebook out again and scribbled something down. "Hai, he seems to be fine. Just a few scrapes. He won't admit to what actually happened. According to him, he fell down."

Miki nodded, knowing how proud and stubborn Echizen could be. _I'm just glad he's okay._

Little by little, she began to notice less runners actually continuing around the courts and more piling up at her feet, complaining about the juice. Kumo, who had been wandering curiously around Miki's legs for a few minutes, managed to make his was to a puddle of Penal Tea someone had dropped as they collapsed to the ground after drinking it.

"Ah, Kumo-kun, dame!" she called, but she was too late. Kumo had licked up a little of the syrup-like elixir, creating a sticky string from his mouth to the puddle. He froze with a faraway stare, then fell over, stiff as a board. Miki dropped to her knees and scooped up her poor neko. "Inui-sempai killed Kumo-kun!" she cried, cradling him against her chest as tears streamed down her face. The Regulars, the only ones left, paused for a moment to watch in horror as an innocent neko was subjected to that torture before rocketing away to escape that punishment themselves.

Inui bent over Miki and inspected Kumo. He prodded him with the tip of a pen, making Kumo twitch a few times, then recorded something in his notebook while muttering, "Ii data," and something about wrong concentrations. She glared up at him through teary eyes and mourned her poor neko. Before his eyes popped open and he began wriggling to be set down.

"Yokatta!" Miki called in relief and squeezed her neko as tightly as she could.

Once on his feet, Kumo began bouncing all over the place. He weaved his way between Miki's legs a few times, then tried to take off after invisible prey before being yanked back by his leash. Miki watched him with curious eyes, paying no attention to Inui introducing an even newer and probably more lethal punishment to his twisted race. _I guess this stuff makes nekos hyper. At least my dear Kumo-kun isn't dead!_

"Unfortunately, it's a tie," Inui called to everybody as some of the Regulars collapsed to the ground to rest.

"Kuso, is Inui going to kill us?" Oishi panted out.

"I'm tired," Kawamura sighed in agreement.

"Oy, how long are you going to sit there?" Tezuka said sharply to his teammates.

"Tezuka's right! The last match against St. Rudolph was a long, drawn-out match and endurance was key," Ryuzaki-sensei chimed in. "To compete in the nationals, we have to power up. When you're tired, it's the best chance to improve your endurance."

Miki stuck her tongue out at Kikumaru, who just gave her a dirty look back. She smiled to herself in triumph.

"We're going to have practice matches," Tezuka took over. "If you're chosen, go to the court. Fuji, Echizen, you guys first."

"Ah, it's my chance!" Miki squealed to herself in excitement, prancing up next to the fence for a good viewpoint. She reached in her bag and searched around for her camera before remembering that she was using a digital. She wanted to cry. _I finally get the perfect opportunity to achieve my life goal and Kami-sama takes away my good camera? I hate my life. _

"Doushita no, Miki-chan?" Momo came up beside her and gave her a concerned look. She looked up at him with big, sad eyes.

"My favorite camera was the one that broke the other day and I can't afford the new lens right now. This one's shutter speed isn't fast enough for sports and blurs the pictures. And to make things even better, today may finally be the day I get a good shot of Fuji-sempai's eyes and my camera won't be able to handle it!"

A thoughtful expression came across Momo's face and the other Regulars moved to the fence as well. Kaidoh and Kikumaru took up spaces on either side of her and Inui stood behind her. Miki made a face at him completely ignoring her because of her height, but the match was about to begin and she didn't want to miss one second of it.

Only a few hits into their match Fuji's beautiful blue orbs were revealed and Miki felt herself being mesmerized; not by them, but by how serious he was deciding to play against Echizen. "Omoshiroi," Fuji muttered and took the first game. Almost instantly Echizen answered with a game of his own.

Suddenly, Echizen made the first move and used his Drive B to return a low shot. Fuji managed to return it and Echizen was setting up a smash to take the point, but Miki knew it wouldn't work. She knew about the triple counters.

"Stop, Echizen! Smashing is..." Momo started to say and Miki smiled secretly to herself. _It figures Momoshiro-san would know about it. His power is smashing, after all._

Fuji sank into a backwards crouch and in the blink of an eye he swung his racket parallel with the ground right under where the ball was falling. Miki quickly tried to take pictures of the shot for her collection, hoping maybe one of them would show his eyes open. Before anyone realized what had happened, the ball fell softly to the ground. Behind Echizen.

"Higuma Otoshi," Miki muttered to herself as Momo and the ichinen discussed the shot. She heard Inui's voice on that side and spun around in surprise. _When did he move? He was right behind me!_

"There he goes, a smash!" one of the ichinen called and Miki turned around just in time to see Fuji perform another perfect counter. She watched as Fuji and Echizen had a silent staring match. She knew exactly what each of them was thinking: Echizen was excited about trying to break Higuma Otoshi, and Fuji wanted to challenge him into trying. Confirming her thoughts, Fuji his a chance ball, daring Echizen to smash it back. Echizen jumped up and smashed the ball with a particular spin. Miki didn't recognize it immediately. Thankfully the ichinen, as always, pointed out that it was a Twist Spin smash.

Clicking away furiously and praying that even one shot would turn out okay, Miki tried to capture as much of the match as possible. Through the camera she watched as Fuji almost effortlessly returned the Twist Spin Smash with Higuma Otoshi.

"Ah, Miki-chan, where is Kumo-kun?"

"Eh?"

Miki looked up in surprise and realized that the question came from Oishi. He was looking down at the ground, scanning the area around the court. Miki looked around too and realized that her neko was missing. Her eyes widened in fright. She darted off, accidentally knocking shoulders with Kaidoh on her way. He grunted and gave her an odd, yet not angry, look.

"Ah, hontou ni gomen nasai Kaidoh-san, but Kumo-kun is missing. I'll apologize properly later!" she called over her shoulder. She felt him staring at her as she ran off and internally cursed at herself for being so neglectful and clumsy.

She searched the area all around the changing rooms and between the different courts for any sign of Kumo or his leash. There was no sign that he had even been through. Then she checked the hill next to the courts that she usually watched the matches from and still had no luck. She did notice that the other Regulars had started moving into pairs and going to different courts and she cursed her rotten luck yet again. Distracted, Miki watched as Momo managed to score a point off of Tezuka with a drop shot followed by his Dunk Smash. _S-sugoi, Momoshiro-san.... To do that against Tezuka-buchou. _

The sky darkening brought Miki's attention away from the match and she realized that Kumo was still missing. She was really starting to get worried about what may have happened to him. She started searching around the actual school building, then heard a yowl from the other side of the front wall. On the other side, Kumo had somehow managed to wedge his between two of the bricks and was desperately trying to free himself.

"How did you get here, Kumo-kun?" Miki questioned him as she got closer. She knelt and gently pulled the leash out. Kumo pounced up onto her chest and nuzzled her chin happily. "I missed you too," she giggled and scooped him up.

A rain drop fell and hit Kumo's nose, causing the two to look up at the dark sky. Rain started to fall steadily and Miki tucked Kumo under her arm as she walked back to the courts. The games were probably over, but she still had to get her stuff and apologize to Kaidoh. The rain began to fall more heavily and Miki heard the ichinen scrambling to clean up as quickly as possible.

The distinct sound of a ball being returned drew Miki's attention immediately to the court she had been standing at before. Fuji and Echizen were still playing, and very fiercely. She set Kumo down and let him run to the open changing room for shelter from the rain. Unaware that she was getting drenched, Miki stood right at the fence and stared intently at the game. The Regulars were all standing around her, watching with just as much tension and interest.

"Hora! How long do you plan on staying out here, you bakas!" Ryuzaki-sensei yelled from the court's gates. It shocked everyone who was so absorbed into the game, and even make Miki fall over and into the mud in surprise. She scolded Fuji and Echizen and ordered them to stop their game. Everyone rushed into the changing room except Miki, who was standing under the awning over the doorway. She blushed, realizing that the boys were probably changing just a few feet from her.

Kaidoh exited the room first, fully dressed in his school uniform, and Miki quickly jumped out of the way and out from under the awning to bowed deeply. "Gomen nasai for earlier! I didn't mean to bump into you and I shouldn't have been so rude!"

She stayed in the position for a moment until she heard him walk forward a few steps.

"You're covered in mud," he pointed out and Miki blinked blankly up at him. He hissed quietly and started walking away. Miki stared after him in confusion. _Does that mean he forgives me?_

"Ah, it looks like the rain has stopped!" Momo called happily as he and Echizen walked out together. "Eh, Miki-chan? What are you doing? You're all wet and covered in mud."

She shook her head and smiled at him. "I'm just about to head home. Is Kumo-kun still hiding in the changing room?"

"Ah. He's curled up in Kaidoh's cubby."

The thought almost made Miki start laughing but she thanked them and went in to collect him. She quickly caught up to the two and followed them as they walked home. She laughed at their banter and sighed contently. But suddenly she started to feel a bit strange.

"Achoo!"

Momo and Echizen turned back to her and gave her strange looks. She groaned to herself and held back another sneeze.

"I hate the rain," she moaned to herself.

**END**

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As per usual, the reviewer appreciation!

**CoffeXsmurf:** I'm glad you like my story and I'm sorry that you don't like the Japanese that I add in, but that isn't an aspect of my story that I'm about to change. It takes nothing away from the plot, adds a little fun and trivia, and works towards the story in terms of authenticity. I may be English and the story is written mostly in English, but it takes place in Japan and is Japanese in almost all aspects otherwise. I'd appreciate it if you took my story for what it is and try to understand my reasons for using that language. I wouldn't blame you if you stop reading my story, but I'm not going to stop using simple Japanese words and phrases. It is my story after all :) In any case, thank you for your input and I hope you either continue to enjoy my story or find something else that works for you!

**ForlornDream:** Wow, I'm glad my story pulled you back into fanfiction! That means a lot to me. It makes me happy that you're enjoying my story as well and I hope it continues to keep you interested! I'll try my best! Thank you for the review :D

**CRdragonPyro:** Yeah, Miki has a tennis-y background. She never played though. Just pictures. I absolutely adore Yuuta, he's so cute! The next one will be out soon hopefully. Thanks for reviewing!!

Next chapter will be out soon! Within a week, I'd imagine. Maybe even sooner, depending on how busy Easter and all makes me. Reviews are love!


	10. The Past and the Present

**I am back, and within the week! Yay! I think some people are on their Spring Break about now, at least in the mid-Atlantic region of the US. I know around here everyone not in college is off. Anyway, though, I apologize if this chapter is boring. It's necessary. And I think it's kinda cute. And Kazue is finally introduced! **

**SPOILER ALERT: This chapter includes the results of the entire Prefectural Tournament, which means the matches against Ginka and Yamabuki. **

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"Miki, wake up!" a deep voice called from somewhere downstairs. Miki opened a weary eye and stared at the door to her bedroom. With a groan, followed by a hoarse cough, she rolled over and pulled her comforter over her eyes. It was Sunday and she had no need to be up so early in the morning. She had already missed some school that week from whatever she caught in the rain during the practice match between Echizen and Fuji. Rest was all she had planned for a while.

"Oy, Miki! You need to get up!" _Sometimes I really wish Kaa-san had taken him with her,_ Miki thought grumpily and sat up. Tissues were balled up all around her room and her trash can was overflowing with them. They were signs of her misery, along with the mask she had on her desk and the pile of work Kikumaru had brought over for her.

"Shiratori Miki! If you don't come down here then I'm sending your little friends up there to see you looking all sick and nasty!"

Miki jolted out of bed and nearly fell over from the comforter getting tangled between her legs. "I'm coming Kazue! Be nice to them!" she yelled, holding her throat in pain from the effort. She quickly ran into her bathroom and tried to make herself appear a little human before scooping up her mask and running downstairs. She hooked the loops behind her ears just as she saw her older brother standing with three familiar Regulars.

Kazue smirked at her, staring her down with his deep chocolate eyes. He crossed his long arms and gave her an expectant look. She blushed a little, thankful that the mask hid most of it.

"Ah, Kazue, this is Kaidoh-san and Momoshiro-san. You remember Eiji-kun, I would hope. They're all Regulars on Seigaku's tennis team. Minna-san, this is my onii-chan, Kazue."

"Yoroshiku," Momo and Kaidoh mumbled, bowing in respect. Kikumaru bowed in greeting as well.

Miki watched Kazue's smirk increase and silently mouthed "dame" to him, but he just shook his head. "So," he began conversationally, "Which of you is dating my imouto-chan?"

"Kazue!" Miki snapped as her entire face flushed. "Leave them alone! They're just my friends!"

"If you say so," he sang and started walking to the kitchen. "Must be some friends to come visit you at 9 in the morning on a weekend."

Miki almost stuck her tongue out before she remembered that she was wearing her mask. "Gomen, ne? Kazue likes to be mean. What are you boys doing here so early? Don't the-" she was interrupted by a sneeze, followed by a coughing fit.

Momo gave her a worried look. "Maybe you should sit down, Miki-chan."

"Iie, daijoubu," she managed to wheeze out. Kaidoh gave her a look and she smiled to herself behind her mask. _My friends are so nice, making sure I'm okay._ "I was saying, aren't the Prefectural Semi-finals today?You guys should be there by now, practicing or something."

"We were thinking of a way to let you know about the match as it happened," Kikumaru said, winking at her. She gave him a puzzled look.

Momo smirked as well. "We figured we would have someone text you during the match to keep you updated."

"So, since Kaidoh is a reserve and you seem to like him," Kikumaru continued, ignoring the noise Miki made in protest and the nasty glare Kaidoh gave him with flushed cheeks, "We decided he would be the perfect person!"

Miki gave them all surprised and embarrassed stares. "Did Kaidoh-san agree to this?"

"Hn," Kaidoh responded. His cheeks were still flushed and he seemed very uncomfortable.

She sighed. _I know he doesn't want to do it. It's not fair to make him._ "You don't have to, Kaidoh-san. I'm sure I'll hear all about the match later tonight or tomorrow from Eiji-kun anyway. Just enjoy the match, ne?" She tried to smile at him with her eyes since he couldn't see behind her mask. Then she gently ushered everyone towards the door. "Now come on, you guys have to get to the courts. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Ganbatte!"

"Ja ne, Miki-chan!" Kikumaru and Momo called, waving at her.

"Fshhh," Kaidoh hissed quietly, giving her one last long glance before he followed the other two.

Miki watched them go with a wide smile and she removed her mask. She was sad that she wouldn't be able to watch their games today but she knew they would do fine. Seigaku was full of incredibly strong players and they would never stop fighting.

A heavy weight rested on Miki's shoulders and she looked up into her onii-chan's smiling face. "Really, which one is it? Was it the spiky-haired one?"

"Kazue!" she whined, smacking him lightly in the stomach. He chuckled at her embarrassment and winked at her.

"I'm just looking out for you, Miki-chan. Onii-chan has to be on the lookout for people wanting to hurt my imouto-chan's heart." He looked away in thought. "Like that bandanna one. He didn't look to pleasant. You should be careful of him."

She snorted. "You shouldn't judge by looks, Kazue. Kaidoh-san is a very nice person and a great tennis player."

"So was Shinshiro," he retorted quietly and Miki's smile dropped. She turned around and started up the stairs to return to her room.

Kazue started to follow her to apologize but she turned around and gave him a stubborn look. "Kaidoh-san is nothing like Shinshiro. I trust him."

As Miki closed her door, Kumo lazily swatted his blanket off of his face and blinked his mismatched eyes up at her. She gave him a sad smile and picked him up gently. "Kazue was being mean again, Kumo-kun. He embarrassed me in front of Eiji-kun, Momoshiro-san, and Kaidoh-san."

Kumo mewled quietly and nudged his way out of her grasp and onto her desk. Her digital camera was sitting there and he swatted at it, then stared up at her expectantly. Miki watched him with curiosity. "You want me to add the pictures to my scrapbooks?" Kumo swatted the camera again and she smiled. Grabbing her blanket, laptop, and a fresh box of tissues, Miki settled in at her desk and started the long process of uploading and printing out all of the pictures on her camera. Thanks to the age and cheap quality of the camera, she had to do this for each picture one-by-one.

:: Later ::

About two hours later her printer finally sputtered to a stop and she had a decent stack of pictures printed and ready to be put away. Kumo had fallen back asleep on her desk so she moved quietly, careful not to wake him. She reached out and picked up an album with "Seigaku" embroidered into the cover. It was a deep blue with stripes of red and white at the top and bottom, reflecting the tennis uniform and the school flag.

Opening it to a random page, the excited faces of Kikumaru and Oishi stared back at her. It was from two years ago, when the two had first started their partnership and friendship. She flipped to another page and saw Fuji smiling gently while holding his racket in delicate hands. It was also from a few years before. Those three were the only ones who had pictures already in the photo album, and the pictures were few and fairly old. _I'm going to have to really update it with pictures of everyone this year. I suppose the evil digital camera will have to manage for a few weeks._

When she came to a blank page, she marked it for the particular match and started flipping through the pictures she'd printed out. As she had expected, only one for every three or four weren't blurred. Not one picture of Higuma Otoshi or Drive B had survived. They were too fast. Miki pouted and threw the blurred pictures in the trash. Her mood worsened when she realized she had two pictures that showed Fuji's eyes, but the rest of his face was blurred as he turned. _I was so close!_

A loud buzz made Miki jump and drop the pictures in her hands. She looked around and saw her phone blinking. She had a new text.

** The Ginka team forfeited immediately, so we made it to the finals against Yamabuki. Fuji-sempai and Kawamura-sempai lost to them in Doubles 2, 6-3. ~ Kaidoh.**

Miki blinked and reread the message. _So Kaidoh-san is actually going to be texting me?_ For some reason, that made her mood improve and she smiled to herself. It was a shame that Seigaku had lost their first game, but their strength was in Singles anyway. Except for the Golden Pair. They were sure to win.

She put her phone down and started scooping up the dropped pictures. More found their way into the trash can for their quality. But she suddenly froze, staring down into the familiar pitch-black eyes. They were much more cheerful that they had been the last time she saw them.

"Shinshiro," she muttered, looking over the picture. The red-haired boy had his arm wrapped around her shoulder and he was holding her chin so she would look into the camera. Shinshiro had won his first match as a Josei Shonan Regular and Miki had brought her camera to take pictures of the team.

She flipped through other pictures behind it and saw they were from the same match, of her old friends and other members of the tennis club. One of her sitting on her favorite sempai's shoulders while wearing his trademark hat made her smile widely at the memory. She reached over again and pulled out another photo album, this one an aqua blue with dark blue trim. "Josei Shonan" was written across it in block letters. She flipped through the pages, not taking time to reminisce, and placed the photo of her and her sempai on an empty page.

_I hope things at Seigaku go better than they did at Josei Shonan. I miss Wakato-sempai and the others. I don't want to lose Seigaku too._

Kumo suddenly jolted awake and stared angrily at Miki's phone, which had vibrated its way toward her cat and woke him up. She giggled at him and stroked his cloudy fur to calm him down. Once his fur wasn't sticking up anymore she checked her phone.

**Kikumaru-sempai and Oishi-sempai won in Doubles 1, 7-5. ~ Kaidoh.**

Miki smiled knowingly and responded to the text.

**I knew they would. I'm glad to hear things are going well. Arigatou, Kaidoh-san, for keeping me updated. Who plays Singles 3? ~ Miki**.

"My boys aren't doing too bad, ne, Kumo-kun?"

He mewled at her and jumped down from her desk. She watched him weave his way through the tissues and he stopped by her film camera.

"You're right," Miki told him thoughtfully. "The pictures in the dark room should be dry by now." She surveyed the room. "I think I should clean up first, though."

Her phone buzzed again, startling her into another fit of coughing. _If I survive this, I will never stand out in the rain again. This is so miserable_. She picked up her phone and checked it while popping a cough drop to soothe her throat.

**That baka, Momoshiro. Luckily Echizen and Tezuka-buchou are playing Singles 2 and 1 or else we might lose because of him. ~ Kaidoh. **

Despite herself, Miki laughed. _Those two will never get along. At least, not while other people are watching them. _

**Kaidoh-san, be nice to Momoshiro-san. I'm sure he'll play well. Tezuka-buchou helped him a little during practice a few days ago. It will be fine. ~ Miki.**

She sighed, wishing she could be there to watch the match with Kaidoh and the others. The best she could do was remember with her pictures. She cleaned up the tissues in her room and walked down the hall to her special dark room with her album in hand. She had already soaked, developed, and washed the pictures the night before and hung them up to dry before she went to bed. They were surely dry and ready to be cut and placed in her album.

The pictures of Momo and Kaidoh from the St. Rudolph game had turned out beautifully. Not one blur showed up on any of the pictures, and a few actually showed the ball against the racket as the respective player followed their shot through. _Not bad, if I do say so myself_, Miki thought proudly. She carefully took down the first copies of her pictures and created new sections in her scrapbook for Momo and Kaidoh.

"You seem to like those two; you have a lot of pictures of them."

Miki jolted to the side and barely caught her scrapbook before it hit the floor. She turned and glared at Kazue, who had snuck into her dark room without her knowledge.

"My camera broke after their game, and I made copies of the pictures to give to them." He gave her a suspicious stare, which she ignored. "You shouldn't be in here anyway. If I were developing pictures you could have ruined them."

"Ah, but you aren't developing anything so there's no problem." He gave her a wicked smile and poked her in the side. For some reason, that caused her to sneeze powerfully, sending spit all over his hand. He stared in horror at his hand, then gave her a disgusted look. "Miki-chan, you infected me!"

She rolled her eyes at her dramatic brother and tuned out his whining about getting sick and having to be bedridden for the rest of his life. _Sometimes I wonder who really is the adult in this house. _She pushed her pathetic onii-san out of the room and stalked back to her own. Once inside she let herself flop onto her bed. She was exhausted and her head was pounding. It was only the early afternoon but her body felt like it had been put through so much. Before she realized, she had drifted into a light sleep.

A while later, she received another text that woke her up. She stretched her hand to reach her phone without getting out of bed.

**The baka won his match. I have no idea how. Now Echizen is playing that Akutsu person. ~ Kaidoh.**

Miki replaced the phone and curled up on her bed. She pulled her thick comforter over herself and nuzzled into her pillow. Kumo wiggled his way into her arms and the two fell into a deep sleep.

:: Even Later ::

Miki woke with a start from a terrifying dream. She tried to remember what it was about, but all she knew was that it made her insides go cold. Her room was dark, as were the windows, telling her that she had slept into the evening. After turning on her table lamp, she quickly grabbed her phone and scrolled through the texts she had received. She had one from Momo, and the other was from Kaidoh.

**Miki-chan, you should have been here! I destroyed Sengoku-san in Singles 3 with my Jack Knife! If you think that Mamushi's snake moves are good, you should have seen my Jack Knife! Why do you always miss my good matches? You better get well soon, there are plenty more of my matches that you have to see! ~ Momo.**

_That Momoshiro-san, so excitable. I wish I could have seen it too. I'm sure you were amazing._ She smiled softly to herself and went to check her other message

**Echizen won his match, and Seigaku won the Prefectural Tournament. Nobody was hurt and we're going to the Kantou Tournament. ~ Kaidoh.**

Miki smiled widely, excited for her team, and pulled her Seigaku album over onto her lap. She slowly looked through the pages of her boys and thought about how they would do as they improved and went up against stronger teams. _Omoshiroi, ne?_

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Well, that was fun to write. Moving along the plot, in any case. The next one will be more fun. Now to thank my reviewers!

**darkheart1992: **It always makes me happy to see a review from you. I get one about every chapter and it's so nice to know that you're keeping up with the story and that you review for each chapter, even if it's short. Thank you very much! And isn't Kumo-kun adorable? If he were real I would want him.

**CRdragonPyro:** It's the same with darkheart1992, I love seeing your review for just about each chapter. Makes me happy. Yeah, Kumo-kun is a little troublemaker. Definitely not always a good thing. With Kaidoh, though, it's cute. Thank you for the review!

Until the next one, my lovely readers! Ja!


	11. Running Away

**Gomen! I'm such a bad updater. I got a bit swamped with pollen season and being sick, joining a bowling league with my boyfriend, and family issues. But I was also lazy and had writer's block, so I'm totally at fault. I apologize if this chapter isn't as good as it could be, but I wanted to get it out so I can get back into the flow of writing and everything. So, on with the story, ne?**

**SPOILER ALERT:** This chapter includes the results of the Ranking Tournament between members of the Seigaku tennis team.

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START**

"Miki, you're boyfriends are here again!"

"Urusai Kazue!"

Miki rolled her eyes playfully at her brother and snapped on her face mask, thankful again that it covered her flushed cheeks. She dashed out of her room and down the stairs, just barely managing to stop before colliding into Momo's chest.

"A-ah, Konnichi wa Momoshiro-san, Kaidoh-san," she greeted, bowing slightly. They nodded in response. She glanced at them and noticed Momo was covered in dirt and had a bruised cheek and Kaidoh's bandanna looked stained with something. "What happened to you two?"

Kaidoh glowered at her and Miki shrank away from the angry atmosphere he was emitting. She looked at Momo and noticed he wore an irked expression of his own.

"A Rikkai player came to Seigaku to spy on the team," Momo muttered. "He came to challenge Tezuka-buchou to a match and ended up causing trouble before he ran off." He rubbed his cheek and pouted at her. "He hit me in the face with a tennis ball and caused a chain reaction ending with Kaidoh splashing his drink onto himself."

She quickly ran to the kitchen and dampened a cloth for Momo to clean his face with and another for Kaidoh. "Are you two okay?"

"Fshhh."

Miki looked at him carefully. "Kaidoh-san?" His piercing eyes made her shrink away for a moment. She looked down at her hands for a moment, then raised her head. "W-would you like me to wash your bandanna for you? It would only take a few minutes...." She reached out her hand to gesture at it, also presenting him with the cloth to clean himself.

"Leave me alone!" he snapped as he knocked her hand away. With a shove he pushed Momo aside and walked right out of Miki's front door.

"Ano baka, he didn't have to yell like that," Momo mumbled, scratching the back of his head.

Miki stared blankly at the spot Kaidoh was standing just a moment before, then down at the washcloth on the floor. Her clasped hands were shaking slightly. _He's never yelled at me before....What did I do wrong?_

"Miki-chan? Daijoubu ka?" Momo came up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. She turned and smiled at him, hoping it reached her eyes since that was all he could see.

"Daijoubu. He just startled me is all."

"He's been in a bad mood since earlier. Some of the second-years were a little too close and he lashed out at them too."

Miki nodded in understanding. For a moment all she did was stare at the door through which Kaidoh had just left. She was aware of Momo's worried stare and sighed.

"So," she began, shifting her attention as she reached down to scoop up the fallen cloth, "are you ready for the Ranking Tournament?"

:: The Next Day ::

"Kazue, I'm dying~," Miki moaned, fanning her face. It was the day of the Ranking Tournament and she was prepared to return to school, but a sudden fever kept her in bed. "I need a fan and another blanket!"

Kazue walked by her room and rolled his eyes. Miki was hidden under three comforters and was bright red, but she was fanning her face with a giant paper fan. "You know, the point of a fever is to get your body heat up to destroy whatever is making you sick.. Fanning yourself defeats the purpose."

She pouted at him. "But I can't sleep if I'm all hot and sweaty. I'm miserable!"

"Well you better get over it. I'm sure Eiji will be over in a few hours to give you your work and talk about that tennis club. He's been over every day this week, interrupting my gaming marathon." He sighed wistfully and slowly sauntered down the hall and back to his room. "Between your whining and people coming to visit I can't get anything done!"

_What a drama king. _She made a face as a chill ran down her spine and snuggled deeper in her covers. _Maybe if you were doing something productive I would have more sympathy. _Slowly, Miki drifted into a light sleep.

A knocking woke her up about an hour later. She looked around in confusion.

"Someone's at the door! I'm about to beat this level so answer it yourself!"

"Kazue, you're so mean!"

With a huff Miki slid out of her warm cocoon and quickly wrapped up in a fuzzy robe. She snapped her mask back on her face and started to leave her room when Momo appeared in her doorway.

"GAH!" She jumped back and tumbled over her bed and onto the floor, almost crushing a napping Kumo. He hissed in protest and darted under the bed. "Momoshiro-san, how did you get in?"

"Your brother told me to come in over the intercom."

She rolled her eyes and pounded on the wall between their rooms. _I hate you, Kazue._ With all the dignity she had left, she stood and sat down on her bed. Momo took a seat in her computer chair and just watched her with sad eyes.

She tilted her head at his silence. "What happened?" For the first time she noticed he was in his practice clothes and not his school uniform or his Regular outfit. Realization dawned on her and he gave him a sympathetic look. "Who was in your block?"

"Inui-sempai and Tezuka-buchou. 6-2 and 6-1."

"Gomen nasai, Momoshiro-san. That's some rotten luck."

He made a disgusted face. "It's not luck. I just wasn't good enough. I wasn't strong enough." He clenched his fist in his hair and dropped his head.

Miki felt bad for him. She knew how important tennis was to him, particularly being a Regular. Slowly, she took her mask off and scooted to the edge of her bed so she could put her hands on his shoulders.

"I suppose you'll just have to train harder then, ne?" He looked up in surprise at her smiling face. She winked playfully at him. "Inui-sempai was kicked out too, and look how strong it made him. You'll be fine. Maybe you just need a few days to collect yourself."

He looked at her carefully and returned her smile. "It's nice to talk to your face instead of your mask. It's been a while."

Blood rushed to Miki's cheeks and she leaned back onto her bed to put a more comfortable distance between them. "And it's nice to see you not looking so pathetic anymore," she shot back. Her expression softened. "Daijoubu ka?

"Iie," he sighed. "But I will be."

"Good. If you need to talk again..."

Momo stood and nodded to her. "Arigatou, Miki-chan. Ano, could you not tell anyone about this?"

She smiled up at him. "Hai, Momoshiro."

He paused. "No -san?"

"No -san."

"I suppose Momo-chan would be going to far?"

She smirked and stuck out her tongue. "Ja ne, Momoshiro." He smiled at her one last time and left. Miki waited until she heard the front door close before she crawled back under her blankets with a content sigh. She was worried about him, but she knew it would be all right.

:: Three Days Later ::

The lunch room seemed oddly quiet to Miki, despite the buzzing chatter around her. It wasn't often that she would eat her lunch here instead of in her classroom, but she knew that if Momo was feeling better he would be buying armfuls of food and chatting with anyone nearby. Sadly he was nowhere to be seen.

She snuck a glance to her left and sighed quietly at her bad luck. Secretly she was also hoping she could put some distance between herself a certain Regular she felt uncomfortable around by leaving her classroom, but oddly enough he decided to purchase lunch and eat in the cafeteria as well. Kaidoh was sitting alone and didn't seem to be enjoying his food or the atmosphere. Every other bite he would hiss and he had yet to open his eyes since he sat down. _Like he's imagining he isn't here_.

"But what happened to Momo-chan-sempai?" one of the ichinen that was always around Echizen commented. It immediately drew in Miki's attention, and it peaked Kaidoh's interest enough to make him pause in eating.

"He hasn't come to the club for 3 days already!"

"Maybe, just like this, is he going to give up club activities?"

Miki tensed and zoned out for a moment. She heard the other two ichinen angrily yell at the other but she was secretly worried that he would make that decision. It didn't seem to be in his character, but he had been skipping a lot of important practices.

"Ichinen! Talking about such things, do you not care at all?" The tense and almost angry tone Oishi had snapped Miki out of her thoughts. _I guess everyone on the team is upset about Momoshiro._

"I thought I was going to be slapped!"

"No way, Oishi-sempai is too nice to do that."

"That's right. It would be different if it was Kaidoh-sempai." The three snickered at their jokes, and Miki smiled secretly, knowing Kaidoh was right behind them.

"What about me?" he growled in a deep voice.

The ichinen quickly ran away and Miki laughed a little to herself. Her laugh drew Kaidoh's attention and their eyes met for a moment. She blushed and quickly broke eye contact, picking up her tray and dashing out of the lunch room. She was aware that not only did his eyes follow her out, but they also scanned the room as the other members of the tennis club had many times before. Momo was still gone.

All day, Miki tried to stay out of Kaidoh's way. She was afraid of setting him off again, particularly because she knew he was worried about Momo. It hurt her to be yelled at like that, more than she could admit. It had happened so many times before, and every time she had be told to leave them alone. Lost in thought, Miki subconsciously reached up and ran her finger along the pink scar hidden beneath her bang. The memories were painful.

"Miki-chan~!" Kikumaru's face popped into view and Miki realized that the school day was over. "Come on, it's time for practice!"

_At least Eiji-kun is still cheerful,_ Miki thought, rolling her eyes. "Hai, hai." She followed her perky sempai down the stairs and out of the building to the tennis court, all the while listening without much interest to him talk about one thing or another.

All of the Regulars were already practicing, but the atmosphere was more tense than normal. Oishi in particular was pushing everyone harder than normal, though he wasn't focused at all.

"I can see Inui's wearing the Regular jersey from here! And it's so hot today!" Kikumaru called as he and Miki walked onto the court. "What? Momo didn't come today either?" Miki had begun to take her camera out, but froze at his comment. Everyone's attention except Inui's and Echizen's suddenly shifted to Kikumaru.

"Well, slacking off since he was dropped from the Regulars..." he began with an oddly cheerful attitude.

Oishi turned to him, shocked. "Eiji..."

"And I thought I could make fun of Momo wearing the normal jersey."

Something snapped in Oishi and he yelled at Kikumaru, which really did draw everyone's attention. Kikumaru started laughing, making fun of Oishi for putting his shirt on inside-out, and nobody expected what happened next. Oishi reached out and pushed Kikumaru to the ground. He apologized, but the damage was done.

"I'm not pairing up with a guy like him!" Kikumaru yelled angrily. Everyone stared in shock and tried to talk to Kikumaru, but he wouldn't listen. Only Inui seemed to be unaffected by the dissolved pairing. Miki bristled at his reaction. _How can he be so nonchalant? They're best friends!_

She watched sadly as Kikumaru and Oishi paired up with Echizen and Kaidoh and went against each other for the first time in a few years. After one point they were in each other's faces, yelling. It took Tezuka's authority and laps around the courts to make them quiet down. Before the real practice had even began, Miki grabbed her things and left. She couldn't stand watching them fighting. _Everyone is running away from their pain. Even me._

**END**

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_Reviewer love!!

**ForlornDream:** Yep, Miki went to Josei Shonan for her first year. I swear I thought I mentioned it in one of the first chapters but I went back and realized I didn't. Oh well, not a big deal. Yet. Thank you for the review and I hope you keep enjoying the story!

**grenouille-85:** Hello! I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far. I'm sorry that you don't like my use of Japanese either (I'm not trying to show off, by the way. I know I hardly know anything of the language) but again, I'm not going to change it. And I'm trying to keep Miki from becoming Mary-Sue but she does have a very specific personality that I don't want to mess up. And to be honest Kazue's name at first was Kazuo but I made a typo in the 5th chapter so I decided to just go with it. Besides, Hazue won't be in my fic so there should be no issue. I wish you luck with your own fic and thank you for reviewing!

**CRdragonPyro:** I don't really know that I would call Kaidoh polite per se, except to his elders, but he does have a soft spot in him. Momo doesn't even have the soft spot when it comes to manners :P Oh well, boys will be boys. Thanks for the review!!

**Aasta The Evil Bunny Foo Foo: **Interesting name, first off. And thank you for reviewing! I'm glad you're enjoying my story and I appreciate the compliment. I hope you keep enjoying it!

**MoonlightChaos:** Why thank you! :) I'm glad you enjoyed it and I'll try to update more often in future. Thanks for the review!!

Until the next chapter! Almost Hyotei time!!


	12. Uhh I wasn't stalking you Honest

**Kyaa! I am so excited to get to this part in my story! :D I want to apologize in advance about bouncing around between a bunch of scenes but they need to be done! Almost Hyotei time, but not quite! **

**Oh, and for those of you who are fans of the Prince of Tennis Musicals (Or Bleach Musicals, they kinda blend together since they share past actors in common) I've uploaded the last Burimyu (Bankai 003) and the last Tenimyu with a plot (Final Rikkai Second) to my website. There's a link in my profile if you're interested. **

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**START**

_So much is happening all of a sudden. I wonder how the Kantou Tournament will be with all of this drama. _Miki sighed to herself and fiddled with her camera as she walked back to her house. Getting a few good photos wasn't worth watching the Golden Pair fight.

Slowing her pace, Miki tried her best to just enjoy the good weather and relax. She had a few problems of her own, most of all a particular Regular she somehow managed to upset. No matter how much she replayed what happened in her head, she couldn't figure out why he snapped at her.

"I suppose it doesn't matter," Miki said to nobody. "I'll just make sure I don't bother him again."

The faint sound of tennis drew her attention to a street court just off the road home. Interested, she made her way towards it. Momo and Tachibana's younger sister were playing a tennis match together. Quietly observing, Miki delighted in the fact that slowly Momo was playing more and more like his old self. She brought out her camera and took the best pictures she could, hoping some would turn out well enough to place in her album.

"Somehow you seem more like yourself," Tachibana's sister told Momo with a smile after Momo ended with a beautiful dunk smash. Miki smiled to herself as well, glad that Momo was indeed getting back to normal.

"Well thank you, Ann," Momo told her, looking over his shoulder at her. _Ah, so her name is Ann. _"Oops, Tachibana's sister!"

With a final picture of the two play fighting, Miki decided she should leave. It felt invasive to watch the two flirt. _So Momoshiro has a crush on Ann-san. How interesting! I'll see you tomorrow, Momoshiro._

:: Next Day ::

Sure enough, Momo stayed after school for tennis practice the next day, looking sure of himself and ready for his punishment. Speculations buzzed around the team about how many laps Momo would have to run as punishment. As far as Miki could tell, the record was about 50. In any case, everyone seemed relieved that Momo had returned. That act set off its own chain reaction as well.

"Oishi, how many laps do you think Momo has to run around the court?" Kikumaru asked from nowhere with a cheery attitude. It took him a moment to realize he was supposed to be mad, but he looked more nervous than angry.

"Oishi!" he said at the same time that Oishi said "Eiji!" Miki smiled and readied her camera, knowing what was coming. "Gomen!" they both called to each other at the same time before laughing together. She snapped a few pictures of their laughing faces and the iconic high five they shared afterward.

_Ahh, it seems like everyone has stopped running finally. _She paused and frowned. _Everyone but me_. She slid her gaze over to Kaidoh, who was paying full attention to Momo and Tezuka talking just outside of the court. She gulped and slowly walked over to him, taking care to stay out of his sight.

"Sumimasen deshita!" Momo called just as Miki looked back over at him.

"100 times around the court," Tezuka finally told him and Miki's eyes widened. _100? Is that even __possible? _ "Momoshiro. Come back to us in the next ranking match." Momo looked back at him with a smile and took off on his laps. Slowly, everyone started to get back to their practice.

"When he comes back, I'll crush him!"

Miki smiled and started talking before she could help herself. "I don't know about that, Kaidoh-san." He turned to her in surprise. "You'll have to train extra hard to do that. I think Momoshiro will be even better when he makes it back." Her eyes widened when she realized what she'd said and she recovered by winking at him, taking a quick picture of the shock on his face, and dashing off to run with Momo.

"Ah, Miki-chan. Why are you running?" Momo asked as she caught up with him. Her legs were feeling odd from not running for almost 2 weeks, but she kept pace fairly easily.

She gave him an awkward smile as her face flushed. "I think I just made a baka of myself in front of Kaidoh-san so I'm literally running away."

Momo laughed at her, making her blush deepen. "It's more running around him, don't you think?" He looked into the court and laughed even harder. "Ah, Mamushi's blushing too!" Miki faltered in her running and met the ground hard. Momo stopped to help her and Fuji joined them just outside of the fence as well.

"Daijoubu ka, Miki-chan?" Fuji asks with a worried look on his face. "What happened?"

Miki blushed deeper and glared at Momo while he had to shove his fist in his mouth to keep from laughing. "Ii desu, I just tripped. I haven't run in a while so I'm a bit out of shape. _Right_, Momoshiro?" She sent him a mean glare and he snorted, barely getting out a "right" before he started laughing again. "Oh, go away!" she yelled as Fuji helped her to a bench inside the fence.

"Kaidoh?" Fuji questioned quietly, opening his eyes ever so slightly to stare at her. Her eyes widened in shock and she sputtered, trying to ask him how he knew. He smiled cheekily, closing his eyes in the process. "Ja ne, Miki-chan. Must return to practice~!"

_I hate everyone on this team_, Miki pouted to herself, trying to get her cheeks to lose their red tone. She caught Kaidoh's eyes and they both quickly turned away, her to pretend to take pictures and him to accidentally hit a tennis ball into a second-year's face.

:: The Next Day ::

"I'm such a baka," Miki told herself for the thousandth time as she walked around the more scenic routes of the city. She hadn't stayed for practice, not wanting to embarrass herself again. Momo, Fuji, and Kikumaru had teased her all day about it, and she couldn't bring herself to look at or say one thing to Kaidoh. "I couldn't have kept my mouth shut. I had to say something, and something stupid much less. He was probably blushing for my own embarrassment. I'm such a baka."

She stared out at the river to her right and sighed to herself, pressing her hands to her cheeks.

"From now on I'll just stay quiet. Keep my mouth shut. Keep my stupid thoughts in my own head."

A soft "fshhh" drifted up from the bank just down the river and Miki froze. She ducked and walked closer, trying her best to stay out of sight. As she thought, that sound had come from Kaidoh, who was practicing along the river bank. Shirtless.

Miki ducked and pressed her palms into her eyes. _I did not just see that. _To make sure, she peeked over the side and looked again. _Yep, he's not wearing a shirt!_ Silently Miki wished she had her mask back. With all of the embarrassment she felt recently she really needed it to hide her face. She heard him muttering something to himself as he swung his racket, but resisted the strong urge to move closer. She embarrassed herself enough already.

"Ii data," a deep voice rumbled in front of her. Miki squeaked and looked up at Inui, who was watching her with an interested expression and was scribbling something in his notebook.

"Inui-sempai!" she gasped, covering her face. "I-it's not what it looks like!"

He smiled creepily and stood right beside her against the wall. Curiosity got the best of her and she looked over the wall.

"I can't get this right," Kaidoh told himself between swings. "Even if I continue like this, for no matter how long, the Boomerang Snake will remain incomplete!"

"Kaidoh," Inui called to him, making him turn to face his sempai. Miki ducked down just enough to hide her more while still being able to see what was happening. She prayed that he couldn't see her because she was too nosy to duck completely down. She watched as Inui moved down the hill and she slowly lifted herself for a better view now that Kaidoh's attention wasn't on her spot.

Inui handed Kaidoh a plain towel. "Here, use this," he said. Kaidoh grabbed it as Inui walked into the shallow part of the river. "Come here and try swinging it."

Miki watched with interest as Kaidoh followed and did as he was told. The towel was weighted down by the water. _Why is Inui having him do that? The water makes it nearly impossible. _She listened to Inui explain and it dawned on her. The motion taught by learning to swing the towel was how Kaidoh should hit the Boomerang Snake.

_Sugoi... Inui-sempai is really smart. How does he think of these things?_

Miki sat by the wall as the sky went dark and the moon rose, watching Kaidoh slowly improve with each swing. _Ganbatte, Kaidoh-san!_

:: A Week Later / Omniscient POV ::

Kaidoh stood in the river, swinging his towel to get himself used to the motion. He had quickly determined what he needed to do to swing the towel despite the water, but he wanted to perfect it for his Boomerang Snake. He was aware of Inui's eyes on him as he twisted his arm to fling the towel into the air. Almost every night he felt someone's gaze as he practiced. Now he realized it was Inui.

"I don't care what Hyotei is, I'll crush them!" Kaidoh yelled to himself as he perfectly swung the towel in a fluid, almost natural motion.

"Kaidoh," Inui called, grabbing his attention. "Want to team up with me for Doubles?"

Kaidoh stared at him in a calculating way. Inui returned the stare.

"I refuse. I'll fight in singles until the end, and nobody will get in my way." Kaidoh tried to stand his ground, unwilling to put off performing his Boomerang Snake in a Singles match, but Inui managed to convince him it would be a good idea.

"Are you okay with that?" Kaidoh asked finally, giving in to his sempai.

"Hai. I have my reasons for using you in return." Inui gave him a final nod and started to make his way out of the river. Just as Kaidoh was beginning to continue his practice, Inui paused.

"Kaidoh," he called, his back still turned. "Before you leave, make sure you wake her up. If she sleeps out here she'll get sick again."

Kaidoh stared at Inui's retreating back in confusion before looking at the grassy hill behind him. Sure enough, there was something there. He carefully got out of the water and made his way up to get a better look. At the very top of the hill, laying curled up on a blanket was Miki. She was shivering and had her neko pulled close to her side.

_How long has she been here?_ Kaidoh wondered, looking over at the setting sun.

"Achoo!"

He looked back down at Miki and saw her rub her nose in her sleep. Her entire body was shivering from the wind and without the heat of the sun she would surely get colder. Kaidoh gave her a long hard stare.

:: Miki's POV ::

_Mmmm, my bed smells good. Nice and warm, too. I wonder what time it is._ Miki cracked open an eye and looked at her surroundings. It took a moment for her to realize she wasn't in her bed. She wasn't even in her house. Her memory came back and she realized she had fallen asleep outside on the hill overlooking the river. With a groan she sat up and stretched her stiff limbs. The camera in her hands fell to the grass softly and Kumo mewled up at her in protest of her moving. Something fell down her arms and pooled in her lap when she moved. She stared down at it. _Is this... a Regular's jacket?_

"Fshhhh."

Miki froze and stared wide-eyed up at Kaidoh, who was standing in front of her and just staring. Her jaw dropped and it took a moment for words to form. _Kaidoh's jacket..._

"Uh... I wasn't stalking you. Honest." _BAKA! What kind of thing to say is that?_

Kaidoh gave her an odd glance and gathered up his stuff. Miki held his jacket out to him and he gently took it as he walked past her towards the road. She watched him until she couldn't see him anymore.

"Kumo-kun, how do I manage to say such stupid things?" Kumo just stared back at her with his big mismatched eyes. "I'd be better of just being mute. It can't be this embarrassing. Well, come on. Let's get going home." She had just realized that the moon was in the sky and the street lights had turned on. It was late.

She quickly gathered her blanket, camera, and Kumo into her arms and started up the hill. She almost stumbled as she reached the road.

Kaidoh was leaning against the railing between the road and sidewalk, holding his bag over his shoulder. Miki just stared at him. He noticed her presence, blushed, and turned to walk down the sidewalk. A ways down, noticing she hadn't moved one step, he called to her, "Are you coming?"

With a startled blink Miki quickly fell into step behind him. _What is he doing? He doesn't live this way..._

Silently the two walked in the cool night air. The quiet was comforting and Miki took the time to consider the boy in front of her. He was so confusing! One minute she was afraid to talk to him because he might snap, and the next he would seek out her company. And now he was walking with her?

Suddenly Kaidoh stopped walking and Miki had to step sideways to not run into him. She looked up and realized they were in front of her house. _He walked me home?_ She turned and stared up at him.

"I can't figure you out at all, you know. I have no idea if we're friends or if you hate me." Kaidoh remained silent, not looking at her. She waited for some type of response. She got none. With a heavy sigh she bowed to him and turned to open the front gate.

A weight on the top of her head stopped her and she slowly turned to look at him. His hand was on her forehead and his eyes were fixed on hers. His normally hard features had softened. For a moment they stood like that, until he gently used his thumb to push aside her bang and uncover the scar running across her eye. She saw his gaze skim across its length before resting on her eyes again.

"Miki-chan! Stop flirting and get in here! It's late!"

Her eyes widened in horror and she turned to glare at her brother's smirking face as he closed his window. _Kazue... I'm going to have to murder you!_

"Fshhh," Kaidoh hissed in embarrassment as he placed his hand on his bandanna. In the dark she couldn't tell if he was blushing or not but she could feel the heat of her own cheeks. She gave him and awkward smile.

"Ja ne, Kaidoh," she said quietly as she quickly opened the gate and walked inside.

"Ja," he responded, taking his leave down the street. Miki smiled after him, more confused that she had been but happy none-the-less. She opened her front door with a wistful sigh and closed her eyes. Her expression turned annoyed and she looked upstairs. "Kazue no baka!"

**END**

* * *

I cannot begin to explain how hard it was to write this. I was flailing and I wanted it to not sound corny and I still think I failed :( But anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed! Review appreciation time!

**Grenny851:** You changed your name! Don't worry about the misunderstanding and all, everything's all cleared up now and it's all good. I'm glad you're still enjoying my story and I hope to continue to see your input. Thank you for reviewing!

**MoonlightChaos: **Lots of fun stuff happening at the moment! It's great, I'm glad to be getting into action and drama and stuff like that. Makes me happy. I hope you keep reading! Thank you!

**darkheart1992:** Sadly Kumo doesn't exist :( If I ever find a cat like him I will so adopt it though! That would be so cool. Thanks for reviewing!

**CRdragonPyro:** ... He kinda did pick fights. He ended up beating up a lot of the people on the tennis team because he thought they caused him to spill his drink all over himself. But it is good he didn't try to fight with Momo or Miki. And things worked out :) Enjoy the story!

**Hyotei next my lovely readers! **


	13. Safety in Speed

**Well, I was planning on making this chapter significantly longer and including more of the actual match in it, but I lost internet the other day and it would be highly possible that I lose it again soon and I want to update just in case. If not, then there will probably be another update with what I cut out of this chapter pretty soon. I'm sorry for the delay on this chapter in the first place but I'll try my best to make another update really soon. Gomen, ne? Enjoy!**

**SPOILER ALERT:** Well, this chapter doesn't have the conclusion of any of the matches, but I figure I might as well say it anyway since it does start to explain what happens during Doubles 2 against Hyotei.

* * *

**START**

"Please, Miki-chan?"

"Iie, I told you I won't wear it!"

"But I made one just for you! See? It even has your name on it!"

Miki made a face at the headband Momo was holding out to her and turned her head indignantly. "You wrote the wrong kanji! My name does not mean tree trunk! It's written 'Beautiful Tree'. Why would I walk around with 'Tree Trunk' written on my forehead?"

He stared blankly at the headband before bursting into laughter and calling Kikumaru over to see and join in the teasing. Miki pouted looked away from the two, scanning the scene. It was the final round of the Kantou Tournament and everyone but Oishi had arrived at the courts to wait until they could register.

Momo had sobered up and knelt down in front of her with the headband clutched between his hands and a sad, pleading look on his face. "Onegai?"

_That's not even fair, Momoshiro!_ She tried her best to resist his pathetic looks but finally cracked and held out her hand with a sigh. "I'll wear it around my waist, okay? That way it won't mess up my hair."

A wide grin replaced the sad look and he wrapped his arms around her hips to lift her into the air as he got to his feet. "Arigatou, Miki-chan!"

"Ah! Momoshiro, you put me down right now!"

"Don't you have anything better to do?" hissed a deep voice behind Miki. Momo almost dropped her in surprise as he faced Kaidoh's scowling face. "You're being annoying."

Momo started to fire something back but Miki gave him a look. He huffed and turned away to talk to Kikumaru. She spun around to look at Kaidoh too, but lost her words when they made eye contact. Their moment a week before was still fresh in her mind and she had barely been able to talk to him since without blushing. She broke their eye contact quickly and fastened Momo's headband around her waist with a grimace.

"Tree trunk?" Kaidoh asked quietly. She looked up and gave him a pathetic look.

"Don't ask."

Evil laughter drew their attention to Momo and Kikumaru, who had attacked one of the poor ichinen and attempted to color in his head with a black marker to make him look more like Oishi. Miki smiled to herself and shook her head. _Those two are so much alike. Such troublemakers._

Ryuzaki-sensei's cellphone began to ring and everyone listened closely to hear about their missing teammate. To everyone's surprise, Oishi was in the hospital helping a pregnant woman who had fallen and started labor, and the woman was in no condition to be left alone.

Miki quickly made up her mind. "I'll go help the woman. The team needs Oishi-sempai more than they need a photographer with a broken camera."

Momo stepped forward right behind her. "There's 10 minutes left. I'll go to the hospital in his stead, too. If we hurry, we should be able to make it!" Miki looked back at him and smiled at his devotion to the team. She looked over at Momo just as they were about to leave and winked at him.

"Try to keep up."

:: Momo's POV ::

The two took off down the sidewalk towards the hospital, making sure to be wary of their time limit. Momo watched Miki suddenly take off down the path and almost faltered in his own pace. She was strides ahead of him in an instant before she slowed her pace so she was coasting at his speed just within sight.

"Since when was she so fast? We were even when I was running laps a few weeks ago."

He made sure to keep his pace up so she would stay in sight. _Knowing her, she'd get lost on her own before even reaching the hospital,_ he thought to himself with a slight chuckle. Confirming his thoughts, he got the opportunity to catch up to her when she paused at an intersection, unsure of which way to go. Once she knew her route, though, she easily overtook him again.

The hospital came into view a few minutes later and Momo watched Miki make her way inside. The two met up just outside the obstetrics wing and made their way to Oishi and the pregnant woman.

"Oishi-sempai, we'll stay here instead. So please go to the tournament," Momo said with conviction as he moved aside to let Miki walk in and over to the woman. He heard her start whispering words of comfort to her and a small smile crept on his face. She even acted maternal to a soon-to-be mother.

The smile dropped from his face when Oishi looked down sadly. Momo and Miki watched him carefully, waiting for an explanation.

"What's wrong?" Momo finally asked him. Slowly, Oishi lifted his left hand and gripped his right wrist. _Bandages..._ Momo thought to himself. Oishi explained the situation to the two, assuring the woman that it wasn't her fault. Momo's mind reeled, unsure of what to do. _If Oishi-sempai is injured... we'll have to forfeit._

"Momoshiro." The serious tone of his voice caught Momo's attention as Oishi removed his Regulars jersey. "I'll leave Seigaku to you," he said with a smile, holding out his jersey.

"No way! I can't wear that!"

"Even if I play now," Oishi explained calmly, "It would be a burden for the team, right?"

"But-!"

"Momoshiro," Miki said quietly, walking around Oishi to put a reassuring hand on Momo's shoulder. "You can do this. We both know you can handle the weight of a Regular's jersey, even if it is Oishi-sempai's."

_I wanted to be a Regular again, but not like this. Seigaku needs Oishi to play at this level. Without him..._

"Hurry and go, Momo! There's no time left!" Momo jumped at the urgency in Oishi's voice but nodded. "Don't make me resign."

:: Miki's POV ::

"You do realize you just trusted Doubles 2 to a guy who had to write down the basics of doubles on his arm under his wristband, right?" Miki asked her sempai in a skeptical voice, trying to lighten his mood. She truly had faith that Momo would help the team to victory, but she wanted to cheer up Oishi. He looked so upset and worried.

"Miki-chan, could you do me a favor, too?"

"Hai, Oishi-sempai. What do you need?"

He glanced at the door Momo had just run out of with a concerned look. "Go back to the team and support Momoshiro and Eiji. They're going to need confidence to work together. Oh, and if I take to long here, could you send me a message with some updates?"

She gave him a wide smile. "Sure, I'd be happy to. Are you going to be okay here?"

"Her husband is on his way. I'm just here for support until he arrives."

Miki nodded and waved at him as she followed Momo's path out the door and back to the courts. Since she was alone she let herself run as fast as she could. The sting on the wind felt pleasant on her skin, a feeling she'd missed while stuck in bed. It felt so free, so safe.

The first thing she realized when she arrived was that Seigaku had moved from the front steps. _I guess that's a good sign. If they had to forfeit I imagine they would have come to see Oishi in the hospital and I would have passed them, or they'd be moping on the steps. Now I just have to find them. _She pouted to nobody. _I hate having to find them. There's always so many people here._

Taking a slower pace so she could scan the crowds, Miki jogged up and down the paths in search of a familiar face. Unbeknownst to her, the headband Momo had made her was loosening around her waist and migrating down to her hips, then thighs, then...

Miki fell flat on her face, the white strips from the headband woven around both of her calves. She was aware that people were staring at her, but ignored them as she quickly untied the headband.

"Tree trunk? What an odd name. Ore-sama has never heard of such an unfortunate name."

The icy voice made her freeze and looked up at the person talking about her with such blatant rudeness. The speaker held himself regally, brushing aside a piece of his grey hair and staring down at her with a superior look in his eyes. His intimidating aura made it hard for Miki to find words to reply, and she felt her hands start to shake. He continued to stare at her with a cocky smirk and piercing eyes.

"You're in our way. You need to move so we can reach the court."

A quick glance behind the boy made Miki realize that an entire team was with him, all staring at her with various levels of interest. Breathing became hard as she realized there were eight boys around her and she was all alone. In a quick, jerky motion, Miki ripped the headband from around her legs, jumped to her feet, and took off as fast as she could away from the team.

"Congratulations, Atobe. You scared her enough to make her faster than Shishido," one of the boys quipped before Miki was out of earshot and eyesight. She weaved in and out of people desperately, seeking the comfort and safety of being around the boys she trusted.

In her frantic state Miki sprinted right past her boys before realizing that she had found them. She skidded for a moment and turned to run behind Kaidoh, placing her right in the center of the group.

"Miki-chan, daijoubu ka?" Kikumaru asked worriedly. "What were you running from?"

She took a moment to slow her heavy breathing and calm her nerves before plastering a big fake smile on her face and facing the worried Regulars.

"Daijoubu. I was just lost and wanted to find you guys before the match started. You know how my sense of direction is!" She forced a chuckle at herself, aware that half of the team was giving her suspicious and worried glances. _It was a stupid reaction. They don't need to know._

As Ryuzaki-sensei explained to everyone about the line-up, Miki zoned out, considering what had just happened. _I'll have to be more careful about making sure not to be alone in those situations. It's a good thing __Kumo-kun's at home too. I'm no match for eight tennis players, even with my speed. _

"I'M BURNING!"

"Gah!" Miki squeaked in surprise, stumbling backwards to put distance between herself and Kawamura's Burning Mode outbursts. A strong hand caught her right between the shoulders and pushed her forward until she regained her footing. Her face flushed as she looked up at Kaidoh's scowling face.

"Ano... Arigatou, Kaidoh."

"Fshhh."

Miki took a spot in the stands closest to the court and started to get her camera ready before deciding against it. _With this level of opponents there's no way I'm going to catch anything with this stupid camera. Hopefully Kaa-san will send me some money soon so I can buy a new lens. _With a sad face she put her digital camera away and turned her attention back to the court. For a moment she froze, realizing that the opponents were the same team she had run into earlier, but relaxed knowing that she was safe with her boys now.

Very soon into the game, Miki and the rest of Seigaku realized that Kikumaru and Momo weren't attuned to each other enough to play on par with the Hyotei pair. Kikumaru's acrobatics were easily sealed by the superiority of the other net player. Even the hope of Momo's Dunk Smash was crushed by the other opponent's ability to perform a Higuma Otoshi, much to the surprise of Fuji. The two just didn't have any type of partnership that dictated who would control the pace. Without Oishi, there was no gamemaker. Without a gamemaker, they couldn't win.

**END**

* * *

Time to thank the reviewers!

**Grenny851:** My little grammar mistake comes from writing my notes in present tense but my story in past tense :P It's probably a bad habit but it helps me write. I fixed it so it should be all better now. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, and that it made you laugh :) Thank you for the detailed review!

**MoonlightChaos:** I know, right? I enjoyed the fluff. It's hard making fluff while keeping Kaidoh in character, but it was fun too. Thank you for reviewing!

**darkheart1991: **I thought it was cute too. I tried, anyway. I'm glad you enjoyed it. As always, thanks for the review!

**yvonna:** Well I'm very glad you like my story :) I hope you continue to read and enjoy it. Thanks for the review!

**CRdragonPyro: **Everyone has to make peace, or it would be ultimate sadness. Could you imagine the Golden Pair being permanently broken up? It would be awful... You have to love Kazue, even if he is embarrassing. He makes it funny. Thank you for the review and I hope you keep enjoying it!

Okay, for real this time, the next chapter is gonna be more about the match against Hyotei. If I had done what I wanted to, this chapter could have easily been double the normal length. Sadness that it didn't work out the way I wanted. More is on the way soon!


	14. Just a Headache

**It's been a while, hasn't it? My birthday passed 3 days ago and my beloved Nee-chan fixed up my old old computer (the one I had before the previous one) so now I'm all ready to post and write and everything again! I'm sorry for the delay, a whole bunch of stuff has happened since my last post. But hopefully I can get back into writing without any more of these annoying circumstances coming up and breaking my rhythm! I hope you enjoy!**

SPOILER ALERT: This chapter includes the Doubles Matches against Hyotei Gakuen

* * *

**START**

It was a sad sight to see. Kikumaru and Momo were really giving their best against the Hyotei pair but they were too out of sync to play on the same level. Frustration and disappointment were evident on Kikumaru's face as each point was lost. Without any control of the flow of the game, the mismatched pair simply couldn't keep up. Before long the score had reached 4-0 and it seemed hopeless. Miki turned to look at the reactions of the other Regulars.

All at once Miki realized how alone she felt at that moment. Everyone she was close to on the team was gone. Two of her best friends were struggling to keep up on the court, another was off warming up for his turn, yet another was in a deep conversation with his buchou, and the last was in the hospital watching over a woman in need. _I'm not really close with any of the other Regulars and I have practically no friends outside of the tennis club... Less people to lose when the day comes, I suppose._

The vibrations of Miki's cell phone drew caught her attention just as Kikumaru made a remarkable dive and returned a shot the first time that game. Miki smiled in relief when she saw him start flipping his racket, the sign of his conviction and confidence. She flipped open her phone and her smile widened even more. She shared a quick look with Fuji and dashed out of the stands, on her way to the front gate.

She arrived just as Oishi neared the front steps. At some point he had changed into the tennis club sweatsuit and had donned a bandanna Momo had made.

"Am I too late?" Oishi asked as he followed Miki back towards the court.

Miki looked back at him over her shoulder and winked. "Iie, they were just getting started."

The two quickly made their way back and silently stood at the top of the stands. It was quite the sight to see. Kikumaru and Momo had assumed the Australian Formation and were putting pressure on the Hyotei team. The stands buzzed with interest and concern. Miki herself wondered if the two could pull it off without prior practice together. Kikumaru had a hard enough time learning to do it with Oishi and their synchronization was perfect.

"Eiji's made a lot of progress." Oishi smiled to himself, watching his best friend with pride. "He's out there supporting Momo and controlling the plays. I didn't think he'd be able to handle that."

Miki stayed silent for a while, watching the doubles team score point after point with their almost perfect style. "I guess it wasn't Momo who had to take your place after all. It was Eiji-kun."

"Hai."

The two stayed back and watched in silence as the pair breezed through the next four games, bringing the score to 5-4 in their favor.

"They're playing great, those two..." Oishi muttered as the two finally noticed his presence. Momo raised his arm up to Oishi, who returned the gesture happily. Kikumaru smiled up at his friend in joy and understanding. Oishi made his way down to talk to the other Regulars as Miki wandered off to find Kaidoh and Inui. She knew well enough how the game would end.

A few minutes later Miki returned with Inui and Kaidoh in tow, just in time to see Momo pretend to do a Dunk Smash and Kikumaru return the ball easily for the winning point. She rushed down the stairs and tackled Kikumaru as he walked out.

"Omedetou, Eiji-kun! I'm so proud of you!" she squealed as he lifted her and spun her around. He put her down just as Oishi approached the two.

"Good work. Nice game you two."

"Thanks!" Momo winked at Miki, who stuck her tongue out in reply.

"I'm so tired!" Kikumaru began as he wiped the sweat dripping from his brow, "If it weren't for Momo moving around so much... If it were just us..."

"Yeah, maybe we wouldn't win." Oishi smiled at Momo.

"Not bad for a singles player," Miki added with a pat on his shoulder.

Momo looked surprised at the compliments and his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Miki smiled at him and began to move so the others could talk to them. Just as she was walking away an arm snaked its way around her waist and pulled her backwards. She found herself tightly pressed up against Momo's chest.

"Arigatou," he whispered before releasing her and walking towards Ryuzaki-sensei and the other Regulars, leaving Miki a little stunned for a moment.

Her reverie ended when the announcer called Doubles 1 to the court. She walked down the stairs to her seat, pausing when she noticed Momo had taken the seat next to her. _It was just a friendly hug_, she told herself with a shake of the head, _nothing to get all worked up about._ She sat down as Inui and Kaidoh made their way out onto the court. Kaidoh looked over at her and their eyes connected. Simultaneously the two looked away blushing and Kaidoh let out a loud hiss. Miki looked back a moment later to see Inui's creepy gaze fixed right on her. _Now that's something to get worked up about,_ she realized as she knelt down out of his line of vision to tie her shoe, _Inui-sempai knows I was watching Kaidoh practice..._

The sound of a racket made Miki look up, but she didn't see the ball in play. Nobody had moved as far as she could tell. She turned to Momo to ask what had happened, only to see him frozen in shock.

"Momoshiro? What's wrong?" He pointed silently to the ball slowly rolling out of bounds behind Inui. "Eh? How did that get there?"

"Just watch," he said quietly.

The second time Miki definitely didn't miss the cause of such shock. She found herself just as dumbfounded as the rest of Seigaku as she watched the ball move almost too quickly to see, leaving what looked like a burn mark on the court where it bounced.

"Uh oh..."

The next shot faulted, as did the one following it. The speed of the shot never dropped and the player hit the shot again and again, taking their service game easily.

Finally Inui was up to serve. Miki watched with interest as Kaidoh approached the net and began to sway. _Is he going to use it so early?_ she wondered as she watched intently. He delivered a beautiful Boomerang Snake and Miki realized how much his training had paid off. Only it hit in the Doubles court.

"Damn, Doubles court," she heard him mutter to himself.

"Kaidoh," Momo said to himself quietly, drawing Miki's attention. She had to restrain herself from laughing openly at the surprise and frustration on Momo's face. "So you've been working hard."

"Makes you want to work harder yourself, doesn't it? It would take a lot of time to match what he put into improving the Boomerang Snake," Miki told him with a snicker. She froze in realization. _Kuso!_

Momo looked at her suspiciously. "How do you know how long it took him?"

"... Urusai," she mumbled, ducking her head to hide the blush spreading quickly over her cheeks. Momo snickered at her embarrassment but gave her an odd look before returning his attention to the game.

Miki's phone buzzed again, making her jump in surprise. She pulled it out to see Kazue was calling her. Careful to not disturb anyone, Miki crept out of her seat so she could answer the call.

"Moshi moshi?"

"Miki, Kumo got out of the house," Kazue's panicked voice told her.

"Nani? When?"

"Just 10 minutes ago. He got through the window in the kitchen and I couldn't reach him before he jumped the fence."

Miki's eyes widened in fear and ran off towards her home. _Oh Kumo-kun, please be someplace safe._ Places he could be darted in and out of her head, mixed with all of the terrible things that could happen to him in the open.

"Kumo-kun!" she called out as she neared her jogging path nearly another 10 minutes later. "Kumo-kun, where are you?" She ran the length of the path more quickly than she ever had but she didn't see him anywhere. Another place popped into her head and she ran off towards the school's tennis courts, making sure to call to him and keep her eyes open for any sign of his gray fur.

As she rounded the changing room Miki's right foot landed in a small drop and she lost her balance. Her head connected hard with the metal drainpipe on the shed and everything went black for a few seconds. Once her vision returned and she rose to her feet, Miki realized again that Kumo was nowhere to be seen. _Kuso. Kumo-kun, where could you be?_

Suddenly an idea popped into her head and she turned on her heel to check where she and Kumo had spent their evenings for the past week. Miki came to the river and saw three elementary school kids throwing rocks into the river. As she came closer she heard them yelling at something. "Demon!" one screeched, tossing a rock as hard as he could down the embankment. "Evil," another called out, doing the same thing. The third was watching the other two silently with a worried look on his face. Miki realized that their target was a small gray ball of fluff down by the bank of the river. _Kumo-kun!_

"Oy, what are you three doing?" she yelled as she ran towards them, grabbing the two that were trying to hit Kumo. They looked up at her and shrank away from her anger. She squeezed their arms until they dropped their ammo and glared down at them. "Get out of here!"

She heard them running away as she carefully made her way down the slope. Kumo was curled up right by the river, shaking and holding a bleeding paw close to his stomach. Just as Miki reached him her vision went hazy and she had to kneel to steady herself. Kumo came back into her sight and she carefully scooped him up into her arms.

"Everything's okay now, Kumo-kun," she cooed, walking as quickly as possible back up to the road. "We're going to get you home and fix your paw and it'll be fine."

Twice on the way back to the house Miki had to stop and lean against something so she wouldn't stumble as her sight blurred and her head pounded. She was determined to make it home as quickly as possible to treat Kumo's wound so she brushed off the dizzy spells. By the time she got home she could hardly see straight.

Kazue met her at the door and brought Kumo inside. "I'm so sorry Miki, I didn't even realize the window was open." He gave her a worried look as she stumbled towards the medicine cabinet. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm fine," she mumbled as she took a seat next to Kazue and began cleaning Kumo's wound. "I just hit my head is all." Kazue gave her a look and she shook her head, clenching her teeth as a wave of nausea hit her. "I didn't have to fight anybody, I promise. It was really just a bump to the head." He nodded and held Kumo tightly as Miki treated a scrape to his paw, most likely damage from one of the rocks the boys were throwing.

Just as she finished wrapping Kumo's paw her phone rang again. Kazue stood with Kumo and left the room to lay him down as she pulled out her phone. Miki could barely make out Momo's name on the screen. She flipped open the phone but a wave of dizziness knocked her out just as she heard Momo's voice come through her phone.

"Moshi moshi? Miki-chan? Oy, Miki-chan?"

Everything went black before she could respond.

**END**

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Kyaaa, that was annoying. I hate when it's so hard to write something that's so easy to visualize in your mind. Well, reviewer appreciation time!

**yvonna: **Nah, Seigaku won that match. Momo was about to do an awesome Dunk Smash but purposefully missed the ball so Kikumaru could score the point and win the game. It was cool. I try to make my story match very closely to the anime so you can actually find dialog and such from the anime in my story. I think it would be cool to watch the anime and imagine Miki in it. That's why I write it this way :P Thanks for the review!

**MoonlightChaos: **I know! Much excitement. Keep reading! Thanks for reviewing!

**darkheart1992:** I wouldn't say a fear of boys, per se, but she has a fear of people who could hurt her. The Hyotei boys scared her because they weren't very welcoming and all of them are pretty big and intimidating. Besides, she's been hurt before. I'm sorry if I confused you! Thank you for reviewing, I hope you continue enjoying it!

Next chapter soon, I hope! I made a little bit of a cliffhanger, didn't I? Whoops? Until next time! :D


	15. Secrets and Signs of Caring

**As ironic as it is, I actually wrote this chapter with a pounding headache. For some reason I've been having headaches every day for the past week nearly (Even a migraine with aura one day. That was fun...), and I tried to write through it so I could finish it within the week. I hope the chapter still turned out okay. Let me know!**

**As weird as it is, this chapter doesn't mention the outcomes of the remaining games from the Hyotei match. It does, however, include a few things that happened during the match so I suggest catching up before reading. The actual outcomes will be mentioned in the next chapter.

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**

**START**

"Miki-chan!" Momo exclaimed, running away from his bicycle and Echizen to pull Miki into a tight embrace. He lifted her into the air and spun her around, holding her firmly against his chest. "Where have you been? And why didn't you answer my calls?"

"Momo-sempai, you should probably put her down before she gets sick," Echizen told him in his usual nonchalant tone.

Momo paused in his spinning and saw that Miki's face was taking on a green tinge and her eyes were very unfocused. He quickly put her back on her feet and led her to the stone wall for her to lean against. The back of her head gave a piercing throb as she accidentally knocked her bandaged wound against the wall. She rubbed her eyes as the nausea slowly faded away and the world around her stopped spinning.

"Ohayou, Momoshiro, Echizen," she managed to greet them. It took her a few more moments before she felt well enough to stand up on her own, and she offered them a sheepish smile. "I suppose you're wondering where I went two days ago, ne?"

"You were in the hospital, right?"

"Eh?"

Echizen looked at her with an almost bored expression. He gestured to her right wrist. "You have a hospital bracelet on." _Kuso! I forgot to cut that off this morning! _She sighed to herself. _This should be fun to explain to everyone_.

Subconsciously Miki brought her hand up and rested it on the bandages wrapped around her forehead, covering both the bump from the drain pipe and the wound from the corner of the table she hit when she passed out later that day. Momo gave her a worried look and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Daijoubu ka?"

She smiled slightly up at him. "Hai. It's just a long story. I accidentally hit my head a few times yesterday is all. Once on the tennis club locker room's drain pipe, and again on my dinner table. No big deal."

"Wait, your head dented the drain pipe?" Momo asked incredulously. "It's completely squished! The maintenance man had to cut it off and bend it back from the inside!"

_I must have fallen harder than I thought. That would explain why I passed out though_. "I have a pretty hard head, I suppose. I have to go talk to my sensei real quick so I'll see you two at the festival. Ja!"

Miki hurried inside the building, hoping she wouldn't run into anybody else. Kikumaru was the only Regular who knew what had really happened to her. He'd stopped by her house after the match and found out from Kazue that she was in the hospital. Even he didn't know that she had just been released that morning though, after having a CAT scan the night before.

After telling her circumstances to her sensei, Miki decided to visit Ryuzaki as well. Luckily she was alone in her office. "Ohayou gozaimasu, Ryuzaki-sensei," she greeted with a deep bow.

"Ah, Miki-chan. Are you feeling better?"

"Hai, the CAT scan was clean and the doctor said I should be fine. I just wanted to thank you for not telling anyone that you saw me in the hospital the other day. I didn't want any of them to be distracted from the match. I know it means a lot to all of them."

Ryuzaki-sensei smiled at her. "It seems to mean a lot to you as well. You're at more practices than some of the Regulars sometimes." She chuckled.

Miki smiled back briefly, but her expression became serious. "Ano, Ryuzaki-sensei, you didn't tell-?"

"No, it's still your secret," she replied before Miki could finish. "I understand why you'd want to keep it that way, but I think you can trust the boys. They're stupid and stubborn, but their hearts are in the right place."

Miki nodded, lost in thought. _They wouldn't think of the me the same way. I can't lose the people I care about again. _A pamphlet on Ryuzaki's table caught Miki's eye and she tilted her head to read the title better. _Rehabilitation in Germany? Who would need...? Oh, Tezuka-buchou..._

"Well, I think the Sports Festival is about to begin. Are you going to watch the boys participate?"

"I think I'm going to play badmitton, actually."

Ryuzaki gave her a look. "Is that a good idea?"

Miki smiled back at her. "I'm fine now. Besides, it's badmitton. How can I get hurt playing that?"

Just as she was leaving Miki heard Ryuzaki mutter about kids being so stubborn and she smiled to herself. She hurried downstairs to the gym and weaved her way through the crowds to look at the different booths. The line for badmitton was relatively short, but she noticed a familiar face.

"Kaidoh?" she blurted before thinking, causing him to turn and look at her. He nodded slightly at her, and she bowed in return. "You're playing badmitton too?"

"It can't be helped. I don't like other sports."

She nodded in understanding and stood in line behind him. She was vaguely aware that he kept looking back, but figured he must be looking at someone else. Perhaps Momo, who was making a lot of noise as he signed up to play basketball.

"Oy, Miki! Are you going to play basketball with me?" he called across the gym. Miki smiled and shook her head at him.

"I'm not good at sports where the equipment could hurt me. Being danger-prone doesn't mix well with a basketball." Momo pouted, making her giggle as she moved up the line. Kaidoh, who had just signed up himself, hissed just loud enough for Miki to hear as he stalked away. She watched him with concern. _He's more irritable than normal today. I wonder what's wrong..._

A little while later, while the gym was being set up for both basketball and badmitton, Miki started searching for Kaidoh. She was worried about him and hoped that it wasn't something that she had done to make him angry. She found him outside by the tennis club locker room, staring off into space.

"Ano," she began tentatively, getting his attention, "They're setting up for badmitton now." He hissed quietly and looked at her for a few moments. "Is something wrong?"

He closed his eyes and started to walk away. Miki watched him for a moment and noticed he paused and looked back at her. She quickly caught up to him and fell into step behind him. Once they reached the gym Miki grabbed a racket and birdie and stood on one side of an open court. To her surprise Kaidoh followed her and took the place on the other side of the net.

"I'm not very good at badmitton," she warned him.

"So?"

She smiled at him and served the birdie. It sailed over the net and Kaidoh effortlessly hit it back. It was oddly relaxing to play with Kaidoh. For some reason he kept hitting it close to her so she wouldn't have to dash around to return it.

"Hora hora, here I go!" Momo called from the basketball court, drawing Miki's attention just as she returned the birdie. "Dunk Shot!" he said happily as he jumped into the air and dunked the ball. The players on the other watched him in awe.

"Sugoi, Momoshiro!" Miki called, clapping her hands with her racket under her arm.

"Thank you, Miki-chan!" he called back, playfully bowing to her.

"Fshhh," Kaidoh hissed, glaring daggers at Momo. Miki stopped clapping and looked at him in worry.

"Kaidoh? Is everything okay?" she asked. She looked down and saw the birdie by Kaidoh's feet. _He missed? That's odd... Maybe he was distracted by the basketball game too. _

Kaidoh bent down and picked up the birdie from the ground, nearly crushing it by his tight grip. He hesitated in serving for a moment, just as Momo was setting up to dunk the ball again. Kaidoh threw the birdie up into the air and smashed it with a good part of his strength. Miki watched as it sailed through the air, not towards her but directly at Momo. It hit him in the cheek right as he jumped in the air, ruining his slam dunk. _Wow... Kaidoh has good aim._

"My bad. I used too much power," Kaidoh said as he walked over. Miki sweatdropped. _And hit in the wrong direction. _

"Mamushi! The direction is completely wrong!"

"Fshhh."

"You bastard, you did it on purpose!"

Miki sighed and walked off of the court, placing her racket in the bin. _We'd never finish our game with those two going at it anyway._ She took a seat on a bench and watched as the two stared each other down for a moment, until Kaidoh was called on to keep playing. When he tried to return the birdie with a Boomerang Snake Miki had to run out of the gym to keep from bursting into laughter in front of everyone.

In the hallway, a group of 9 girls were crowded around a booth and talking loudly about the upcoming volleyball game. It seemed that they were one girl short for equal teams and they were about to set up in the gym once the badmitton games ended.

"Ano," Miki called to the group in a shy voice. "Can I play?"

By the time Miki and the other girls were setting the volleyball net back up in the gym, most of the Regulars and ichinen had left to watch Echizen play ping pong. Miki was thankful, glad they wouldn't see her potentially do badly or get hurt. _A volleyball isn't much different from a basketball when it comes to being hit, but they needed another player._

Miki took her place on one side of the net and looked around. To her surprise, Momo and Kaidoh had stayed behind and were leaning against a nearby wall, watching her. She waved sheepishly to them. _Well, so much for not being embarrassed._

:: Kaidoh's POV ::

"She's not bad," Momo commented as Miki dove to set the ball before it hit the ground. Kaidoh silently agreed, watching as Miki shook her head and was helped to her feet. _She's pushing herself,_ he noticed. _If she was okay she could have gotten that before it was so low._

Momo chuckled to himself. "As expected, she's being her team's support."

"Hn?"

Momo looked at Kaidoh. "Watch what she does. She never hits the ball over the net. All she does is set it up for someone else. She's supporting the team by letting them make their own plays."

_Like she does with us._ A smirk slowly slid onto Kaidoh's lips as he watched Miki move out of her spot for a taller girl to jump into the air and spike the ball.

"Ne, I'm going to watch Echizen play."

Kaidoh rolled his eyes. "I don't care what you do."

Momo looked at him angrily, but closed his eyes to calm down. "Will you watch Miki? She might get hurt or overdo it and she needs someone to tell her to stop."

Kaidoh looked at him for a moment, then over to Miki. She was already sweating from the exertion and probably wouldn't be able to last much longer. He closed his eyes. "I'll do what I want. I don't need you telling me what to do." He heard Momo leave and reopened his eyes. _She really isn't too bad at volleyball._

Miki high-fived another player in congratulations at earning a point and took a place close to the net. She watched Momo leave the gym and turned to look over at Kaidoh. He lowered his head, hoping to hide the light blush he felt warming his cheeks. Miki waved over at him just as the ball went into play. Distracted, Miki didn't notice the ball about to be spiked right at her.

"Huh?" she said in confusion as she turned and saw the ball coming straight at her face. Kaidoh saw her pass out in shock and exhaustion just as the ball was about to hit. It bounced off of her forehead and she dropped to the floor. Seconds later, Kaidoh dashed over to her crumpled form. A few of the girls were trying to grab her limbs to lift her up but Kaidoh scooped her up and carried her over to the bench.

He turned and saw a girl on his left, looking at Miki like she was about to cry. _Must've been the one that hit the ball. _"You," he barked, "Go get an ice pack." She shrank away from him in fear and bolted off to the nurse's station. Kaidoh carefully laid her out on the bench and took of his jacket to cover her up to keep her warm. With the sweat covering her body and her already being weak it would be easy for her to get cold.

The girl came back and handed him the pack. He carefully placed it on Miki's forehead and smoothed her hair away from her face. He looked up and noticed everyone in the gym watching him with interest. He blushed deeply and glared.

"Nani?" he growled in as fierce a voice he could. Everyone immediately went back to their business, careful not to be caught looking at him again.

:: Miki's POV ::

"Owwww," Miki moaned when she came to, raising a hand to her aching head. She was surprised to feel something cold there and sat up, letting the ice pack fall into her lap. To her confusion it fell onto a male's blue sports jacket. She looked around and noticed that the volleyball game was still going with a new player in her place.

"Fshhh."

Miki almost jumped as she spun around in surprise. Kaidoh was leaning against the wall behind her, watching her intently.

"You pushed yourself too hard for just leaving the hospital this morning."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "How did you-?

"The others are by ping pong," he told her as he stalked away, no longer making eye contact. It took her a moment to gather herself before she set off in the same direction to return his jacket.

She made it to the room just as Echizen beat the prodigy of ping pong and was greeted with concern and questions about her condition. Amidst the chatter Miki silently slipped Kaidoh his jacket with a quiet word of thanks. She sighed heavily as the group trekked to a different part of the school for Fuji's curling game, in which he was the only player. Thankfully the day was about to be over and she could get home to rest.

"So Eiji-kun told me that there were scouts at the match the other day?" Miki commented as she walked home with Momo and Echizen. She was ready to fall into bed. _I guess I did do a bit too much._

"And some people from other teams were there too. Like Rokkaku," Momo answered with a thoughtful look.

"And Yamabuki," Echizen chimed in.

"Oh, and Rikkai was there too." Miki froze, her eyes widening in fear. _Rikkai? I wonder if he was there?_ "They're the two-time national champions at the moment. But Seigaku will knock them out this year!" Momo yelled out excitedly. Thanks to his outburst, neither of the two noticed Miki's reaction to hearing about Rikkai. _What am I going to do when they play each other?_

Miki said her goodbyes and quietly entered her house.

"Miki!" Kazue called, anger evident in his voice. He looked down at her in a reprimanding way. "Why didn't you call me when they let you out this morning? I've been worried sick!" She looked down at her shoes and mumbled out a "Gomen" in shame. He pulled her in for a hug and knocked his knuckles lightly against her forehead, careful to avoid the bump. "At least you texted me about it. Though you probably told that boy all about it."

"Eh? What boy?"

A sly grin came over his face. "That mean looking boy with the bandanna. The one I saw you about to kiss in front of the house before."

Heat spread over Miki's face as it flushed a deep crimson. "I was not about to kiss Kaidoh! He was just walking me home!"

Kazue snickered. "Well I guess you didn't have to tell that boy much."

She looked at him suspiciously. "Why?"

"Because he came by here yesterday afternoon. You didn't know?" Miki's brain froze. She looked open-mouthed at her brother. His smile widened. "Yeah, he asked me where you were, and he seemed upset when I told him you were in the hospital. He looked like he wanted to punch something."

Miki silently fixed something to eat and went up into her room, lost in a daze. _Kaidoh came here, asking about me?_ She looked over at her open photo album and blushed at a picture of Kaidoh. _Why would he do that?_ she asked herself as she slowly drifted to sleep, exhausted.

**END

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**

Again, I want to apologize if it's not at par with the other chapters. If it's so bad I may rewrite it all together. Now, on to reviewer appreciation! :)

**rebirthreborn: **Yay! There are more exciting parts to come, I promise! What's a story without a little drama anyway? ;) Thank you for the review, I shall try to update again soon!

**CemeteryRain: **Can you imagine what it would be like if Momo and Kaidoh got into an actual fight? It would be so scary! I'd put my money on Kaidoh, but it would probably be close. I'm glad you're enjoying it and thank you for reviewing!

**Coco96: **I love Kaidoh too, he's just so awkwardly adorable. And thank you! It means a lot to me. I try really hard to keep everyone as close to their character as possible. It gets pretty difficult. Thanks for the review! I'll update again soon!

**Nee-chan: **You're gonna make me cry, Nee-chan! You finally review my story online and now you're yelling at me for it. :'( Maybe next time I won't let you read over the chapter before I post it! Arigatou for the review, even if you were mean.

**darkheart1992:** Very good theories. I can see how they would make sense. But of course I can't tell you if they're right or not :P I'm glad you're having fun guessing though! And that you're reviewing just about every chapter. Makes me happy :) You'll just have to wait until the ending to see what happens! Thank you for always reviewing!

Next chapter in about a week! We're almost at the Josei Shonan match! I think we all can guess interesting things are going to happen there, ne? Wink wink :)


	16. Captured Memories

**I'm sorry for the delay on this, I had a hard time deciding how I wanted this chapter to go. Lots of failed drafts before I came up with this. Not to mention the final Prince of Tennis musical came out and I had to spend time uploading it to my website. Huge files, but lots of Tenimyu love :) Anyway, let's proceed, shall we?**

**DISCLAIMER: **This chapter contains the results of the Hyotei match, as well as a big plot point that comes right after the match. If you haven't reached this point in the anime/manga/whatever, I highly suggest catching up first.

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**START**

Miki rolled her neck until she heard a satisfying pop and sighed. She'd been sitting in her computer chair for hours, uploading photos and printing them out for her photo albums. A deep frown creased her brow as she stared at the digital camera. _I never knew it would actually be easier to develop photos than upload and print them. This is ridiculous._

For some reason she'd been in a bad mood for the past few days. She was hoping the mystery of why was in one of her pictures. _Maybe once the photos finish I'll remember whatever it was. _The printer started making whirring noises and spat out a piece of photo paper that was half smeared and half blank. She glared at it contemptuously. _If I can ever get the photos to finish, that is. _The printer clunked pathetically and the whirring stopped. The printer had died.

She stared blankly at her now-silent printer. "Why are you doing this to me?" she moaned in frustration. It clicked once randomly, as if taunting her. A quick look inside revealed two pieces of paper jammed in the wheels as it tried to print of both of them. She quickly renoved the papers, reloaded the printer with photo paper and rebooted it, praying that it would survive long enough for her to finish up. The noises it made were troubling, but it finally began printing correctly.

The printer rhythmically spat out photo after photo from her camera. Pictures of practices, the team hanging out around the city, and various different landscapes in the area. Each had a very distinct memory. Miki smiled when a photo of Kaidoh while he was training at the river fell onto a pile of finished photos. The pictures on her computer had finished printing so she hooked up her digital camera and set her laptop to upload and print them as well.

The first pictures to slide out of the printer were of the epic match between Tezuka and Echizen just the day before. _It's matches like this one that makes me wish I had a video camera as well. _She looked at a picture of Tezuka's stoic expression as a ball curved in to his reach as a result of his Tezuka Zone. "I wish I could have seen it during the Hyotei match," she muttered, lost in thought. "Even if Tezuka-buchou didn't win."

Kumo, who was sleeping curled in a ball on the bed, stretched out his front paws and groaned softly. Miki spun around in her chair and smiled at her pet. Her eyes lingered on his bandaged paw and her smile faded. _That will probably leave a scar. _He scrunched up his face and sneezed, making Miki chuckle as she turned back around to her work.

A photo of Echizen diving as he switched hands to reach the ball caught her attention. His was another match she wished she could have seen the week before. _I never imagined he would even be playing. I didn't know reserves play when there's a tie_. She flipped open a journal nearby and looked through the pages. It was her Seigaku Tennis Club Journal and in it were records of the individual games and scores from every match Seigaku had played so far. She flipped past the Yamabuki game she missed and reached the Hyotei page.

She had heard from Kikumaru how the matches had played out. Doubles 2 and Singles 2 were wins, Doubles 1 and Singles 1 were losses, and Singles 3 was a draw. Underneath was the reminder she wrote about the reserves rule, and of course Echizen's score.

She looked back to the pictures of Echizen. "I can only imagine what that game was like, knowing how far he's willing to go for victory." That thought lingered in her head for a moment before she scooped up all of the pictures from the practice match and placed them by her Seigaku album to be added later. Though she was upset that Tezuka left, that day was not the cause of her bad mood.

The next set of photos to finish printing were of the team hiking trip taken just before Tezuka left for Germany. The first picture was of the entire team posing at the top of the mountain. She'd taken it just after Fuji's camera had captured a similar picture. The team looked so carefree and happy.

A few photos further in the stack, Miki found a picture of a cute little sign she'd seen on the hill that said "Beware of Vipers" and had a little drawing of a kid eating and a snake slithering up, but part of it was obscured by Momo's spiky hair. Miki smiled and stifled a giggle at the memory.

:: Two Days Before ::

"Come on, Miki-chan! It's not much further!"

Miki huffed and trotted up the slope, trying to keep up. She was carrying Kumo in her arms, who was fast asleep, and the team was a few paces ahead of her. She cursed how much of her strength and stamina she'd lost from being sick and hospitalized, and promised herself that she would begin jogging again the next day.

"Miki-chan, you're lagging behind again," Momo called, turning back to look at her. She'd begun the hike at front of the group with Oishi and Kikumaru, but was now behind Echizen, Kaidoh, and Momo. She gave Momo a pathetic look.

"Gomen, I'm just really tired."

"Tired? Since when? You can usually outrun half of us."

She gave him a look. "Before I got sick, was bedridden for a week, and was hospitalized for a concussion."

"Ah. Right."

"Baka," Miki heard Kaidoh mumble under his breath. She smiled and picked up her pace so she was in line with her two fellow second-years. Every few steps she would have to jog to stay with them, in part because their strides were so much longer than hers.

Suddenly Miki noticed Momo walk directly in front of her and kneel down. Before she could protest, he'd grabbed the back of her legs and pulled her up onto his back. She had to move one of her arms away from Kumo to wrap around Momo's neck so she could balance herself.

"Momoshiro! Put me down!"

"Iie, you're tired and slow so I'll just carry you up." He turned his head to wink at her. She made a face at him.

"How am I supposed to hold on with Kumo-kun?" she asked, shifting her weight to try to get a better grasp. Kumo's weight was suddenly removed from her arm and she looked over at Kaidoh. He held Kumo against his chest with one of his long arms. Miki smiled at him as he refused to make eye contact, and she could barely make out a flush on his cheeks. Kaidoh smirked as Kumo yawned and Miki settled herself in Momo's grasp. "Arigatou."

A cute sign came into view and Miki giggled at the drawings. She readied her camera and snapped a shot just as Momo shifted her weight. She drew back and looked at the picture she'd captured. His hair took up ¼ of the picture.

"Momo! Your hair ruined my picture!"

"Ah, gomen. What did you take a picture of?"

"That sign," she answered pointing to the right at the sign almost hidden in the trees. Momo took one look at it and laughed.

"Hey, Mamushi, you have your own warning!" he called, still chuckling at the sign. Kaidoh looked at it, too, and glared.

"Fshhh," he hissed, walking away. Miki and Momo shared a look and they both burst into laughter.

:: Present ::

_Poor Kaidoh. He's had a rough few days_, Miki thought with a smile. She flipped through the pictures and found one from the day before the last picture with Kaidoh on his back, covered in paw prints. Kumo was in the picture as well, sitting right by his face and staring down at him. She heard Kumo stretch on her bed and watched him groggily walk over to her. He blinked his mismatched eyes and looked at the picture.

"Nya." Miki giggled at him and put him in her lap so he could see the pictures.

:: Three Days Before ::

It was nearly sunset and Miki was walking around the city, waiting until it was time to meet everyone. She had Kumo walking at her feet on a leash and was snapping random pictures.

A white cat dashed by Miki and she watched it run around the corner and into the park. _Karupin? _she

thought, confused. Kumo started tugging on his leash, wanting to follow, and the two started walking to the park. She followed the sounds of Karupin through some trees.

"Sorry, but I don't have time to play with you."

Miki froze and crouched down behind the bushes. _Kaidoh? What is he doing out here?_ She watched as he tried to resume doing sit-ups and had to smother her giggles when Karupin began licking his leg. Trying her best to be quiet, Miki brought up her camera and began snapping pictures. She felt a tug on her wrist as Kumo tried to walk out of the bush and join Kaidoh and Karupin, but she ignored it and kept taking pictures.

"I told you not today!" Kaidoh protested, trying his best to ignore Karupin until he climbed in Kaidoh's lap and began scratching at his inner thigh. Miki giggled as she watched Kaidoh grab a weed, get down on all fours, and swish it back and forth in front of Karupin.

"Hora hora," he taunted, waving the weed with a wide smile on his face and excitement in his eyes. _Aww, Kawaii! _she thought, rapidly taking pictures of the adorable scene in front of her. A hard tug on her wrist brought Miki's attention to Kumo, who had managed to pull himself out of his collar and had taken off towards Kaidoh.

"Karupin!" a voice called from the street behind Kaidoh. _Ah, that must be Echizen._ "Karupin!"

Karupin suddenly jumped up and darted directly over Kaidoh's body and through the bushes to his owner. Unable to control herself, Miki busted into laughter and snapped a picture of Kaidoh covered in dirty paw prints. Kumo had reached Kaidoh with the weed in his mouth and was licking his cheek in an effort to get him to play.

"G-gomen Kaidoh," she stuttered out, shaking from laughter, "It was just to cute to pass up!"

He glared up at her with red cheeks. "Fshhh," he hissed. Miki watched as he stood up and walked away. Miki bent down and scooped up Kumo with a big smile still on her face. She looked in the direction Kaidoh had went and noticed he was just standing by a lamp post. He turned and gave her a look. Miki quickly ran up to him and they walked together to meet the rest of the team.

:: Present ::

_Whatever's been bothering me, it definitely didn't happen that day,_ Miki thought to herself, looking over the pictures of Kaidoh and Karupin. _That was a great day_.

She sorted them and placed them another photo album she'd started to make. With all of the photos she'd taken on Shitenhouji and Seigaku her albums were getting full. An idea came to her and she bought another photo album for pictures with her friends, leaving the actual tennis pictures in their respective albums.

Miki made her way through most of the photos, unsuccessful in her hunt for the cause of her bad mood. The only photos left were from an afternoon when the Seigaku team had no practice. _I guess it has to be in these_.

Most of them were shots from around the city and in the park. Surely there wasn't anything troubling about them. Then Miki came to a pair of photos that immediately caused a familiar pang in her chest.

The first of the pictures was of Momo and Tachibana Ann. Miki had run into them at the street courts and snapped a picture. The two were smiling and Momo had a light pink tint to his cheeks. Ann had said the two were on a date, as Miki recalled.

The other was of Kaidoh standing by a lamp post at the stairs of the practice courts. He looked flustered and angry, staring off into space. Miki had seen him earlier that day, walking around town in a very odd mood. He'd been yelling randomly and seemed confused about something concerning a date as well. From the photo, Miki assumed whoever he was going on a date with hadn't shown up.

Placing the pictures side by side, Miki considered the two and what her reaction meant. Before she could really think about it, there was a knock on her door.

"Miki? Kaa-san's on the phone," Kazue told her through the door.

"Arigatou Kazue," she replied, picking up the phone in her room. "Moshi moshi?"

"Why didn't you tell me that you were in the hospital a few days ago?" a cool voice drawled in an accusatory tone. Miki grimmaced and made a mental note to yell at Kazue for telling their mom.

"I didn't think it was a big deal, Kaa-san. I just fell and hit my head is all."

"Well we're going to have a long talk and you're going to explain to me exactly what happened. There's something I want us to discuss."

**END**

**

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**

Next is the Josei Shonan match! I'm so excited. So so excited. But anyway, time for reviewer love!

**Coco96:** I know, he's a sweetheart. I love him to pieces! Thank you for the review, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**CemetaryRain: **Wow, very jealous apparently. But she seems to have good taste :) If she can ever stand it, feel free to direct her here. Thank you for reviewing!

**darkheart1992:** A thyroid condition... Interesting. It won't be too much longer before you know. Just a few more matches. Thanks for the review! I hope you keep enjoying the story!

**Nee-chan:** I'm glad they make you feel special Nee-chan, but if you don't respond to my texts then I can't send you the chapters beforehand and you'll have to read them when everybody else does. Sister privileges only go so far. Thank you for reviewing though :) DAISUKI!

**rebirthreborn: **Thank you! I found a few little mistakes but I'm glad it was a decent chapter. They're learning more and more about each other in terms of personality more than their past. Sometimes I think that's more important. But anyway, thank you for the review, I appreciate it! Enjoy!

**PhoenixRage92: **I'm sorry if the relationship between Momo and Miki is confusing, but it'll be more clear a little later in the story. It's kinda supposed to make you wonder. Thanks for reviewing!

**Chrissie-chan:** I appreciate your advice, but I'm going to continue with this style of writing, if for no other reason than this story is ultimately for my own enjoyment. Very few seem to be bothered by the Japanese words and I don't feel like it takes away anything from my story, plus it's fun. I really do thank you for your input though, and if I was trying to write professionally of course I would heed your advice, but it's all in fun. Thank you for the review though!

Now then, I'm off to plan my next chapter! Ja!


	17. They're a little weird

**Sorry for the delay, I was trying to work out how I would split the Josei Shonan match between chapters. There might be a delay with the second half too, but I plan to start writing it immediately so hopefully there won't be any problem. Onward!**

**DISCLAIMER:** This chapter includes the results of the Doubles 2 game against Josei Shonan.

* * *

**START**

"Now everyone is here, right? Well, I'll leave it to you, Substitute Buchou," Ryuzaki stepped aside and nodded to Oishi. Uneasiness was evident on his face, but it was quickly replaced with determination. His eyes scanned the group of his teammates.

"All right! Let's go without letting down our guard!" he called, stretching his hand out in front of him.

"Right!" Momo called back passionately, slamming his hand on top of Oishi's. It took a second, but the two finally realized that none of the other Regulars were joining them. Miki snickered at their shocked faces and stepped away from the group to take a picture.

"What's wrong?" Momo asked in confusion.

Kikumaru put his arms behind his head. "Somehow it seems childish and embarrassing..." he began, only to stop in surprise of his own. Echizen had walked up to the two unnoticed and placed his own hand on top of Momo's. Then Fuji joined, quickly followed by Kaidoh, then Inui. Kikumaru looked at them all and pouted. "Ah! You're all mean, you're leaving me out!" he called, running up to the group. Miki smiled and readied her camera for what she knew would be a good picture.

"Let's go! Seigaku, fight!"

"Ah!"

Miki snapped pictures, moving around the outside of the circle to capture everyone's faces. Just as she was almost all the way around everyone broke up. She made a face at her camera. _Stupid digital camera, taking forever between shots._

"Leave the cheering to me, everyone," Kawamura told them.

"And me," Miki chimed in, taking a place between Kaidoh and Momo. She saw Momo pick up Kawamura's racket and decided to take a few steps back instead.

"Here, Taka-san," Momo said while offering him the racket.

Kawamura pushed it away. "I don't need it today."

"It won't be like Taka-san without it!"

Kawamura finally realized that his hand was on the racket and immediately went into burning mode. Miki continued to back away, taking refuge on a nearby bench. She saw something sticking out of Momo's bag but ignored it as Kawamura started to yell.

"Now all you guys, _listen to me!_" Miki cocked her head in confusion. _English, I think? It's always so weird when he speaks a different language._ "If you win it's all-you-can-eat sushi, but if you lose it's a year supply of wasabi sushi! Seigaku VICTORY!"

_Uh-oh, he said the magic words,_ Miki thought, preparing her camera again. She managed to get a very cute picture of all of the other members piling on top of Echizen in excitement about free sushi. She laughed at their enthusiasm as one of the female ichinen began cheering and waving around pom-poms. _Everyone's still so happy together, even without Tezuka-buchou_, she thought sadly. _I don't have the heard to tell them now._ Suddenly a gift-wrapped box was placed on her lap. She looked up and noticed all of the Regulars standing around her.

"What's this?" she asked, gently picking up the present and examining it. Momo, who had given it to her, winked at her. She gave him a suspicious look but began opening the present anyway. There in the box sat her other camera, complete with its neck strap attached and a brand new lens. In the extra space around the camera were many different rolls of film. Shocked, all Miki could do was look up at the team silently.

"We thought that you needed a new lens since we knew you were having trouble with your digital camera," Oishi told her.

"And since it was kind of my fault," Momo continued sheepishly, "I decided to ask everyone else to chip in a little so we could buy you one."

"It took a while to get the money together, and for us to see your camera so I could figure out what kind it was," Fuji said with a smile. "I know a man who owns a local photography store who helped and gave us a discount."

Miki looked at them all through teary eyes. _They did all of this... for me? _"D-demo, how did you get my camera? I saw it just last night!"

Kaidoh's face flushed and knowing looks came over the rest of the Regulars' faces. Kikumaru playfully nudged Kaidoh. "Kaidoh came by your house last night and Kazue gave it to him. I was planning on doing it but he showed up right as I was about to leave."

Suddenly interested in some piece of his equipment, Kaidoh turned and walked away from the group to pick up his racket. Miki smiled and placed the box down on the bench. Quietly, she hugged and whispered her thanks to everyone before walking over to Kaidoh. He looked over at her and immediately looked away, the color of his cheeks only deepening.

"Arigatou, Kaidoh," she said quietly, squeezing his arm.

"Fshhh," he hissed back, embarrassed and still unable to look at her.

She smiled at him and watched the others messing around, releasing their tension before the match. _I'll wait until after they play. They have enough to think about right now._

Excited squeals turned everyone's attention towards the group of people standing just a short distance from the team. Miki looked over at the group of odd boys in their baby blue uniforms and her jaw dropped. She darted off towards the one with red curly hair under a cap.

The boy looked over the heads of the girls surrounding her and broke away from them. "Miki-chan?"

"Wakato-sempai!" she called with a large smile as she practically tackled him in a hug. "It's so good to see you!" He spun her around happily and placed her on her feet. She looked around at the glaring pack of girls surrounding them. "But not them," she muttered low enough for only the team mates to hear.

"Ah, Miki-chan, are you here to watch me play? I knew you couldn't stay away from me for long," Wakato told her confidently, grasping her hand closely to his heart. Miki smiled up at him.

"If I came to see anybody play from Josei Shonan, it wouldn't be you Wakato-sempai," she told him in her sweetest voice, pulling her hand away. Ignoring his pout she moved away from him to stand in front of a tall boy with blonde hair and a piercing in his left ear. "Kajimoto-buchou," she greeted him with a respectful bow.

He smirked down at her and placed his hand on her head. "It's been a while, ne?"

"Just long enough for Wakato-sempai's ego to recover," she shot back, stifling a snicker when Wakato stuck his tongue out at her. She straightened and gave each member she was familiar with a quick hug and introduced herself to those she didn't know, before she realized that the Seigaku team was staring at her, particularly Kaidoh. She smiled sheepishly at them.

"What? I told you all before that I was from Josei Shonan. I'm close to their tennis team, too. I wasn't expecting you guys to play each other."

"Eh? You're with them?" Wakato asked incredulously. "What a weird bunch," he mumbled.

Miki shot a look at him and stuck out her tongue. "Well you aren't exactly the image of normalcy either."

He threw his arm around her shoulder and smirked at Seigaku. "Well I hope you cheer for Josei or you might get your poor little heart broken, Miki-chan. And that would be a shame." He bent down and whispered in her ear, "It seems one or two of them don't like how close I am at the moment. Should I have a little fun?"

She stepped out of his grasp and turned to face him. "Wakato-sempai, be nice. They're my friends, too. Besides, I think most of them could take you, even in tennis," she playfully taunted him with a smile.

The intercom suddenly came on. "Josei Shonan Middle School vs. Seishun Gakuen Middle School will start now."

Miki looked back at the Josei Shonan team and gave them a sad look. "I'll talk to you all at break between Doubles and Singles, ne?" She waved as she took her place with the Seigaku team.

"Singles 1, Fuji. Singles 2, Echizen. Singles 3, Kaidoh. Doubles 1, Oishi-Kikumaru. Doubles 2, Inui-Momoshiro," Ryuzaki called out. _Inui and Momoshiro? That's an odd pair. I hope it's enough against the twins..._

"Their pair of players are twins, ne?" Momoshiro said to Inui as they took their place on the court.

"We aren't a pair," the twins corrected. They stood back-to-back. "Unit, as we like to be called."

Miki shook her head and looked at the Regulars. "Be careful, everyone. Josei is known for...'unique' players. They're a little weird... And they'll be different than anyone you've ever played."

Momo, hearing Miki's warning, huffed indignantly. "A pair is a pair," he yelled back at the twins in annoyance. Inui had to calm him down and Miki shook her head as the game started. Miki stood at the fence with Fuji on one side and Kaidoh on the other. She hooked her camera around her neck and took a quick picture of both sides before the ball was served. _This should be interesting. I remember the twins as ichinen but after all of Hanamura-sensei's training I'm sure they've become much stronger._

Miki watched as the twins taunted Momo, even before he served. The remarks flared Momo's temper even more and Inui had to warn him to calm down. _He's much more annoyed than usual today. I wonder why..._. Momo threw the ball into the air and served. The ball was easily returned and the twins immediately rushed into the formation Miki had seen the previous year. Both of them were lined up side-by-side on the service line.

"Momo, don't," Miki muttered quietly, her eyes fixed on the game. As she knew he would, Momo aimed a lob over them to the baseline. She shook her head knowingly and watched the twins move to the baseline right after the ball was hit.

"Love-15," the line judge called as the cheerleaders for Josei Shonan broke into cheers. Shock and confusion rippled through the Seigaku supporters as Momo himself voiced his confusion.

"Amazing speed," Oishi observed with admiration.

Miki shook her head between taking pictures of each side. "Their speed isn't what's amazing. Their senses are. They can see and hear exactly how the ball is returned."

Momo served again and the pair lined up at the service line after returning, just as before. Again Momo tried a lob, which was perfectly aimed to the middle of the baseline, but again the pair were waiting for an easy return.

"This is bad, Momo is losing his cool." Miki nodded in agreement with Oishi as she watched Momo being affected by Youhei and Kouhei chatting conversationally. He was the only Seigaku player making returns; Inui had yet to even get near the ball.

"Eh?" Miki exclaimed in confusion when the ball was lobbed to Momo. "They wouldn't do that so easily." She saw Momo take a running start for his dunk smash, snapped a quick picture, and turned to the twins for a shot of them returning. In an instant she realized what was going on, as did Inui.

"Stop! Momoshiro, fall back!" Inui yelled, seeing the twins retreat to the baseline.

"It's too late!" Momo called back, jumping in the air. _Baka! Pay attention to your opponents!_

It was a perfect Dunk Smash, but the pair were ready. They were together at the baseline, turned in towards each other. As the ball travelled right between them they both swung their rackets together. "Duo Union!" The ball rocketed past Momo and he dropped his racket, unable to believe that his Dunk Smash was returned.

Miki looked around at the Regulars and realized they'd moved around to get better views of the match and to discuss what was happening. She was now inbetween Fuji and Oishi. Feeling a little crowded, Miki moved away from the Regulars and moved down the fence towards the half the twins were on. Unaware that the boys were watching her, she snapped a picture of the Josei Shonan pair.

"Momoshiro, calm down," Inui told him quietly in the middle of the game. Miki gave the two of them a worried look. _What are you doing, Inui-sempai? Momoshiro can't calm down if you keep criticizing him_.

"Game Josei Shonan. Four games to love."

Everyone could feel the tension Momo was feeling as he realized that nothing he tried was working. Even the ichinen were getting antsy, to the point of two of them starting a tussle about something stupid. _What, is everybody hot-headed today?_

"Annoying ichinen," Miki heard Kaidoh mutter under his breath as Oishi and Kikumaru went to break up the fight.

"Do you think I can calm down just because you tell me to calm down?" one of them cried, holding the other by the collar.

"Ah! This is just the same Momo-chan-sempai!" another cried, trying to pull the first back.

Miki blinked in surprise and looked over at Momo. He seemed to finally realize something as all of the anger melted from his face.

"Inui-sempai. Sumimasen deshita!" he said with a deep, apologetic bow. "I was almost playing by myself, but everything's okay now. From this point on, we're going to play seriously!"

_Well it's about time!_ Miki readied her camera, knowing that Inui's data tennis would start to come out now that Momo would be willing to comply. Sure enough, Momo got a service ace thanks to Inui's advice. Miki happily snapped a photo of the shot and one of the shocked faces of the pair as they realized they'd given up a point. And another. And another.

"Game Seigaku, four games to two!"

The twins set up another lob for Momo to hit, and backed up for their special move when they saw Momo run up to smash it. Worried that Momo was falling for the trap again, Miki put down her camera to watch exactly what happened. And she was surprised.

The twins swung their rackets to perform their special return, but the ball knocked both of their rackets out of their grips and onto the ground behind them.

"Game Seigaku, four games to three!"

Miki smiled and snapped a few more pictures of Momo talking to the ichinen before the game resumed. She caught the frustrated look on the Josei Shonan coach's face and her eyes widened. _Uh-oh. Hanamura-sensei is maaaaad. Those boys are in for it when they get back to school. Her wrath is deadly._

Miki turned her attention back to the match just in time to get an amazing picture of Momo in the air right as he smashed the ball, and another of the ball bouncing behind the twins.

"Game Seigaku, five games to four! Change court!"

"Yatta!" Miki called out happily. She playfully stuck her tongue out at Wakato from across the court and laughed when he glared back at her.

"Just one more game," Miki heard Momo tell Inui happily as they took a break to drink. Only Momo's bottle didn't have his name on it. It was Inui's.

"Not good," Miki muttered as she dashed around the group and to the court entrance. The others looked at her oddly until Momo collapsed and his hand rolled so they could see the name on the water bottle. She rushed through the gate to Momo and cradled his head in her lap while medics were called. "Momoshiro? Daijoubu?" she asked him quietly.

He groaned and his face turned green. "Don't ever drink Inui's new juice," he managed to get out. She took out her handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead. The medics came in with a stretcher and she held his head securely while they loaded him in.

"That was a great game, Momoshiro. I got awesome pictures of your Dunk Smash," she told him with a smile just before they carried him away. She followed them out and walked back around to stand with the team again as Momo was hauled off for more care.

"Due to Seigaku's withdrawal, Josei Shonan wins the Doubles 2 match," the judge announced.

"Really now, I question the coach's abilities," Hanamura commented slyly, making Ryuzaki angry and causing her to yell at Inui.

"Hahaha, retiring due to a stomach ache is pitiful," Wakato said loudly in an arrogant tone. Miki glared at him from across the court.

"Wakato-sempai, urusai yo!" she yelled sharply. He, the rest of Josei Shonan, and Seigaku all seemed taken aback by her outburst. _Wakato-sempai, sometimes you are just too arrogant for your own good_, she thought, giving him an angry stare. He frowned back at her and whispered something to Kajimoto.

"We will now begin the Doubles 1 match. Would the players please come to the court?"

"Be careful," Miki muttered to Kikumaru and Oishi as they made their way to the court. Their opponents were a very short player in sunglasses with blue hair held back by a sweatband, and a tall player with bronze skin and a matching headband. She reached out and lightly grasped Oishi's wrist. "Especially you."

He nodded and they took their place on the court. Miki watched the two size up their opponents and felt Oishi's concern as he looked down at his own wrist. Kikumaru came over and placed his own hand on Oishi's wrist, promising to do his best. Unable to resist the moment, Miki took a picture of the scene. She still couldn't shake her worry about Oishi and how his wrist would hold up. _I hope everything will be okay..._

**END**

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So, on to the review love, shall we?

**Coco96: **Ah, the sting of emotions. Poor Miki indeed. Thank you for reading!

**rebirthreborn: **I love when Kaidoh and Karupin get together too! It makes me happy because Kaidoh is such a softie. Don't you love the suspense? It's so exciting! Thank you for the review!

**PhoenixRage92: **The cats play a big role in the story. Besides, they're adorable and make for the perfect scenes. You shall see much more of the cats in the future chapters. Thank you for reviewing!

**CemetaryRain:** Am I cruel for having her look at both pictures at once and not realize which one affected her most? I thought it would add a little bit of conflict to the story. And suspense. Thank you for the review!

The next one will hopefully be out within the week! Reviews are love!


	18. Playing Through the Pain

**I'm sooooo sorry for the delay! I had a terrible accident with my laptop and some milk and my keyboard died on me. To make it up, I'm going to post two chapters. I hope that helps? Maybe? **

**DISCLAIMER: This chapter includes the results of Doubles 1 against Josei Shonan**

* * *

**START**

Despite the match beginning in a funny way when the line judge couldn't see the smaller Josei Shonan player behind his gigantic partner, the match turned somber very quickly. The Golden Pair quickly learned that despite being large, their opponent was quick on his feet and had a long reach. He even utilized his height to return a high volley from Oishi. This match wouldn't be an easy win by any means.

Miki snapped a picture of a well-placed return under the taller opponent's legs and watched in surprise as his petite partner returned it, also through his legs. The shock felt by the Golden Pair was shared throughout the entire team. _So they're very trusting. It must be their partnership that got them on the team because I don't remember them being on the team at all. _

She realized just how trusting they were when the shorter player used his partner's body as a ramp to jump into the air and return a lob with a very powerful smash. _Like the Dunk Smash..._

"By the way, there was supposed to be someone in the last match with a Dunk Smash," the taller opponent commented haughtily. "What a joke. He's nothing compared to our angle and powerful smash." The smaller one accented the statement by smacking his butt at the team.

Miki bristled at the two's antics. The way their team was making fun of Momo was starting to make her angry. _I don't know these two well enough, but I would definitely expect more from Wakato-sempai. I still can't believe he said that! _Her hands tightened around her camera and she heard the plastic begin to creak under the force.

"What the hell did they say?" Miki heard an angry voice mutter from behind her. She spun around and saw Momo slouching against a nearby tree. "My dunk is a joke?" He slowly got to his feet, shaking slightly at the exertion. _Momoshiro..._ She moved closer to see if he was okay, expecting him to still be with the medics being tended to. He certainly looked like he still needed medical attention.

"Momo, stop it. Calm down. You just got out of the stretcher, right?" Kawamura pleaded logically, trying to reason with him.

"Ch. Don't get all hotheaded," Kaidoh said loud enough for Momo to hear, though he never turned to look at his fellow second-year. Miki turned to scold him but he had more to say. "Of course theirs has more power. There are two of them attacking. Baka."

"Who are you calling a baka?" Momo started forward to confront Kaidoh. "All you can do is flap your mouth off!"

"Guys," Miki murmured pathetically, finding herself right between the two as they kept moving closer and closer to yell at each other. She tried to move out of their way but was cornered before she could slip away.

"What did you say?" Kaidoh fired back angrily, taking another step closer. This jacket brushed against her shoulder and a light blush started to form on her cheeks.

"You better cut that out!" Momo retorted, closing the gap and getting right in Kaidoh's face. His body pressed Miki right between the two, her shoulders tight against each of their chests. She kept her face down and pressed her hands to her hot face. Suddenly Momo backed off and Miki peeked through her hands to see him throwing up on the ground right near her feet. She jumped back in disgust, knocking herself and Kaidoh back against the fence. She stared wide-eyed into his shocked face, aware that they both were quickly turning a deep crimson.

_Oh Kami-sama, please tell me I didn't just do that_, she thought desperately, darting away from Kaidoh and hiding herself behind the ichinen. _If I pretend it didn't happen, maybe he'll forget all about it!_ She kept her eyes on the court, refusing to acknowledge what she'd done.

"See? I told you not to get riled up," Kawamura chided as Momo gasped and moaned, still bent over. Thankfully nobody else seemed to notice what else had happened.

"Game Josei Shonan, 2 games to Love."

Miki frowned as the pair taunted her boys, and her frown deepened as Oishi faulted what should have been an easy enough shot to return. _He's overexerting his wrist..._ She heard Fuji explaining to the others that Oishi hadn't completely healed yet and listened as Fuji pointed out that he also had the psychological burden of taking Tezuka's place as well. She sighed, hoping that Oishi knew what he was doing. _I trust you, Oishi-sempai, but you'd better be careful._

Suddenly Oishi served a ball underhand and Miki watched in surprise as the ball wasn't returned. He served another underhanded ball and watched it bounce out of reach of the shorter opponent. Then he switched to a slow overhand serve that unnerved the taller player into smashing it out of the court. _Oh, I get it!_ Miki realized, taking pictures of Oishi's calm face as he served an unexpected drop shot.

Miki's camera clicked and she looked down, realizing that she'd already gone through a full roll of film. She smiled sheepishly to herself and quickly changed it out for a fresh roll. _I guess I got carried away now that I can actually take decent pictures of my boys. All of my boys..._

She looked over across the court at the members she'd met and made memories with the previous year. Wakato-sempai saw her looking and sent her a wink with a matching cocky smirk, which she returned by rolling her eyes playfully. Kajimoto was carefully watching the match but sent her a warm nod of acknowledgement. She smiled back at him. Many of her pictures were of those two. And Shinshiro.

Her attention returned to the game as Oishi returned the powerful Cannon Volley and was now faced with the Thunderbolt, the smash made from the smaller teammate jumping off of his partner's shoulders.

"Game Josei Shonan. 5 games to 2."

"What's that?"

Oishi and Kikumaru had lined themselves up in a straight line, just like Australian and one of the reporters explained that their formation was different than the Australian Formation because it put a pressure on the other team as they decided where to return the ball. It was called I Formation. _I wonder how long they've been practicing this. _She snapped a shot of Kikumaru as he easily returned the shot and gained Seigaku a point. She blocked out most of the reat of the technical speak, taking comfort in knowing that her boys had the advantage.

Point by point Seigaku made a comeback with their formation. They took another game, making the score 5-3. But then Oishi dropped his racket in pain.

"Oishi-sempai!" Miki exclaimed, grabbing desperately to the fence. Oishi picked up his racket and took his place at the baseline.

Then Hanamura snapped and shook her head at her pair. She stared blankly at the scene for a moment before she realized what Hanamura was asking of her "masterpieces." Tears started to well up in her eyes. _You __evil woman! I can't believe you would ask that! _Following their sensei's orders, the pair did all they could to put pressure on Oishi, targeting him with their shots to weaken his wrist.

Her sadness at Oishi's pain was soon overcome with pride at Kikumaru. Once he saw his partner at his limit, Kikumaru stepped in and told him that he would handle attacking. Oishi took his place at the baseline and handled the defense. With their unparalleled partnership, the Golden Pair made their comeback, ending the match with a beautiful Moon Volley out of their reach, making the final score 7-5.

Miki rushed to the gate as Oishi left and knocked him back into the fence with a strong hug. "You're a baka, you know?" she muttered in his ear before pulling away with a teary smile. He smiled back at her and patted her gently on the head. "You better get a doctor to look at your wrist, Oishi-sempai."

Squeals from the cheerleaders surrounding Wakato reached their ears and Miki rolled her eyes at them. Then she remembered her promise. She turned to her team. "If you guys don't mind, I'd like to go see my friends for a while. I promise I won't tell them any secrets," she joked. Nobody seemed to thrilled about this, and Kikumaru pouted.

"You aren't going to cheer for us anymore?" he questioned sadly, looking down at her with his big blue eyes.

"Of course I am! I just want to catch up with them. They are my friends, too. I'll be back before the game is over, I promise." She gave them all a smile and started to walk away, but stopped. Kaidoh was standing away from the group, taking off his jacket and readying himself. _Should I...?_

She cautiously walked closer to him. Blood rushed to her face but she managed a small smile. "Ganbatte, Kaidoh," she said quietly before running off to the other side.

The girls surrounding Wakato all turned to glare at her as she came closer. "What's she doing here? Isn't she a Seigaku?" one of them asked in a snotty voice. Miki gave them all face smiles and maneuvered her way through them to Wakato.

"Ah, Miki-chan! I was starting to wonder if you forgot about me, but then I realized that wouldn't be possible!"

She gave him a confused stare. "Who are you?" He pouted and stuck out his tongue at her before pulling her in for a side hug. "Good luck, Wakato-sempai," she told him, then whispered something in his ear. He pulled away with a conflicted look but quickly replaced it with his cocky smile.

"I'll just have to do my best then, won't I?"

She watched him strut out of the pack of girls and onto the court with an enormous air of pride. Taking the distraction, Miki slipped away from the ravenous cheerleaders, afraid of their reaction once they realized that Wakato had hugged her, and stood near Kajimoto.

"Are you worried about the match?" he asked without turning towards her. "Or is it something else, Miki-chan?" Confused, she looked up at him.

"Nani?"

He gave her a knowing look. "Something is bothering you."

She glowered and muttered, "I forgot how well you read people." A small smile crept onto his face at her pout. "I'm not worried about the match. I know who's going to win. It's after the game is over that I'm worried about. Kaa-san called me last night and you know she never calls without a purpose."

"Is it bad?" he asked with sympathy. She simply nodded and pulled out a small piece of paper with some words scrawled neatly on it. He looked it over thoughtfully. "Didn't Seigaku's buchou just leave for Germany?"

"Hai."

He gave her the paper back and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It'll be fine. Just enjoy the match for now. What comes will come."

"Singles 3 will now begin!"

Miki smiled and readied her camera with an entirely new roll of film. "Perfect. This is the match I've been most excited for."

**END**

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Again, I'm so so sorry! The review responses will be at the end of the next chapter. Thanks for reading and putting up with my horribly random updating!


	19. Who Is He Now?

WARNING! THIS CHAPTER WAS POSTED AT THE SAME TIME AS THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THAT ONE, GO BACK AND DO SO.

**See, another chapter! The Josei match isn't over quite yet. It's much longer than the other games, probably because Miki has a personal interest in the Josei Shonan team. Oh well, it's still exciting stuff.**

**Edit: Well, I'm embarrassed. I just realized that this chapter was accidentally replaced by a chapter from my other story. My face is bright red, if you all could see it. I'm sorry!**

**DISCLAIMER: This chapter includes the Singles 3 match against Josei Shonan. If you haven't watched it yet, don't ruin it for yourself.**

* * *

**START**

As if on cue from the announcement starting the Singles 2 match, the hopeless group of cheerleaders roared to life with squeals of encouragement to Wakato. He strutted out onto the field with his hand raised to his supporters and winked, turning the cheers into swoons. Miki rolled her eyes and snorted, drawing an amused look from Kajimoto.

The exchange between Kaidoh and Wakato was too quiet for anyone off court to hear, but all eyes were on Wakato as he threw his hat into the air while yelling out "Change!" and taking a stance. Almost instantly his cheerleaders called back "Over!" and Miki had to wonder how long they'd practiced that. One the hat fell, Wakato placed it on backwards and a calm determination took over his face.

_I wonder who he decided to be against Kaidoh... _Miki wondered, raising her camera to capture Wakato as he took on a completely new demeanor. Her answer came quickly as onlookers buzzed about his mannerisms resembling some pro tennis player named Lleyton Hewitt. _I'll have to remember that so I can write it on the bottom of these pictures. I have so many of him with other players' names written on them. I can't keep track of all these different players he mimics. _

Kaidoh's service game came and went in Wakato's favor. The cheerleaders went wild in a planned cheer for Wakato using uchiwas (paper fans) with the letters of his name on them.

"This is ridiculous. You'd think he was some famous idol or something," Miki muttered, rolling her eyes at the display. "They should be more respectful at a tennis match."

Thankfully the cheerleaders went silent in amazement when Kaidoh returned Wakato's shot with a beautiful Snake Shot of his own. She ignored Wakato's light comment that the Snake Shot was nothing to hide, knowing it would be a problem for him, and smiled to herself. Boomerang Snake was a very surprising shot, but the Snake Shot was still his most powerful weapon.

After loosing another point to Kaidoh, Wakato started to get frustrated. "Wakato-sempai's Hewitt isn't working anymore against Kaidoh, ne?" Miki mumbled to Kajimoto. He nodded solemnly in return. "Do you think-"

"Change!"

"Over!"

"Nevermind," Miki mumbled, rubbing her ears. A very small smile creeped onto Kajimoto's face as she pouted at the damage to her ear drums. Wakato's demeanor and even a bit of his appearance changed and he took a very different stance as he began to serve. She screwed up her face in confusion. _Okay, I yield. Who is he now? _"Kajimoto-buchou?"

He smiled. "He's Pete Sampras, nicknamed Pistol Pete."

"I can't keep track of all of these people!" she groaned. "He usually doesn't change more than once during a match!"

"Maybe you should write them down," he suggested. Miki started to answer but stopped when she saw Wakato hit an impressive Dunk Smash right by Kaidoh. It seemed his new style was working for him, as he won another point, bringing to score to 30-30.

"You don't have to try that hard," Wakato told him arrogantly. "You're going to lose in the end."

Kaidoh glared across the net at him. "Shut up. You're just a copycat. I'm not scared of you one bit." His expression intensified. "I won't lose to a guy like you."

_That was so cool!_ Miki thought happily, smiling to herself. Wakato looked over at her as he walked back to the baseline to serve and saw her smile. He smirked back at her and winked. In response, Miki stuck her tongue out at him in a friendly yet taunting way. She caught Kaidoh's eye and saw him clench his fist around his racket. Her happy expression faded. _Oh no, I've made him mad again._

The game stayed in Wakato's favor as he landed another point with an identical Dunk Smash.

"He's not as good as we thought," one twin said with pride.

"All exterior," the other chimed in right after. Miki huffed, offended at their underestimation of Kaidoh. She started to retort but Kajimoto beat her to it.

"Don't underestimate them. It's a strong school." She smiled thankfully up at him and turned her focus and her camera back to the game.

Another Dunk Smash looked like it would get Wakato the game, but Kaidoh managed to return it and dashed to the net to return the volley for the point. He took another, taking the advantage over Wakato. Miki took the moment between serves to look over at the Seigaku team. Momo was standing up at the fence with a fierce look on his face. _He's so stubborn! But at least he's getting involved in the game._ She smiled and waved over to him and was shocked when his expression harshened and he looked away.

"Momoshiro... I've made you mad too?" she muttered quietly to herself. Kajimoto hears her and looks down at her. She had let go of her camera, letting it hang around her neck, and watched the match dejectedly without actually seeing it. She didn't even look happy as Kaidoh took the second game.

"Miki-chan, what's wrong?" he asked gently.

"Kaidoh and Momoshiro are both mad at me, and I don't know why," she mumbled.

He nudged her shoulder just enough so she would look up. "Like I said, what comes will come. Just enjoy the match. It looks like Wakato is getting pushed back again."

Miki turned her attention to the match just in time to see Kaidoh return another shot with his Snake. She cheered up a little, but her mood quickly turned to frustration.

"My my, it seems like this style has depleted it's usefulness. I just thought of a style that is perfect for you. Change!"

"Over!"

"Wakato-sempai, you baka, stop changing over! I can't keep track of all of these different players!" she yelled at him. She huffed and closed her eyes, trying to calm her nerves. When she reopened them, she saw all eyes were on her, looking at her in shock and amusement. "Hehe, gomen," she squeaked out, hiding behind Kajimoto. She looked out from behind him and saw the entire cheerleading team glaring daggers at her. "Kajimoto-buchou, can I use you for the rest of the game?"

The team laughed at her collectively as she slowly inched her way out from behind him. Resigned to not being able to figure it out herself, she looked pointedly at Kajimoto.

"Andre Agassi," he told her. She pulled out her phone and started to write an email to herself with a list of the different names in order. "Agassi is a return specialist so your player's Snake Shot won't work this time."

True to Kajimoto's prediction, Kaidoh's Snake was returned and Kaidoh lost his service game again. Just before starting his service, Wakato decided again to change his style. Miki felt like crying. _Why does he do this __to me? I can't handle this!_

"Kajimoto-buchou, Wakato-sempai is becoming another person," she cried pathetically, paying no attention to the dramatic flair of Wakato or his cheerleaders. "Who is he now?"

"Goran Ivanisevic. Are you sure you're okay?"

She looked up at his with teary eyes. "Only if he stays this person for more than one game."

Wakato kept his service game and eventually the score came to 4-2 in Wakato's favor. She heard the Josei team talking amongst themselves about Wakato's style and how it messed with his opponents heads. She had to agree. Many players fell to the frustration. But Kaidoh was different. He was way too stubborn to let Wakato's style break him.

"Don't sweat it, I just thought of a perfect player for you," Wakato said for what seemed like the millionth time. Miki fell backwards into the dirt and groaned. _I'm just going to stay here for the rest of the match. I can't keep track. _

"I admit your skill is great," Kaidoh began, causing Miki to shoot up from her position on the ground. She realized that he had scored a point against Wakato's new identity. "But I know people who use those moves better than you." She thought about the different styles of the players he's chosen so far. A southpaw. A power player with a Dunk Smash. A player with almost impossible returns. _Hey, it's Seigaku! _

Miki had gotten back up and was snapping shots like mad, making sure to capture the shift of power to Kaidoh as his body realized that he was playing familiar styles. Soon he had taken the lead, seemingly with no real difficulty. All Kaidoh needed was to take one more game, and the set would be his.

"I'm in awe. I guess there are some good points in this tennis club of entertainers," Wakato conceded, though in a cocky way. "Well, I just determined the ultimate opponent that will crush you."

Miki blinked in surprise. "Speaking of, who was it that he was last time?"

"Gustavo Kuerten."

"Fshhh," Miki heard, and she looked over at the court. Only the sound didn't come from Kaidoh. Wakato had taken on the persona of Kaidoh himself. _Well, this is going to be very interesting. But there's one thing that Wakato-sempai can't copy. _Shocked and unprepared to play himself, Kaidoh lost the game, bringing it into a tiebreak."There is nothing more insulting than being defeated by your own move," he told Kaidoh, slouching over into Kaidoh's signature sway.

"12-point tiebreak. Seigaku's Kaidoh to serve."

Everyone watched the game with interest and tension, knowing one wrong move could mean the game. Miki smiled to herself, knowing very well how the match would end. She looked up at Kajimoto and saw his expression. He knew it, too, but wouldn't say it.

Kaidoh glanced over and saw Miki smiling, and she quickly erased the smile from her face so he wouldn't get mad at her again. He then hit a perfect Snake Shot and tied the score 1-1. Wakato stood from a dive and Kaidoh bristled. _He's still mad. Why is he always mad? _

Kaidoh raised his arm high in the air and crouched down. "Finally!" Miki cried, snapping a picture of Kaidoh as he hit an absolutely beautiful Boomerang Snake. All Wakato and the Josei team could do was watch in confusion and frustration.

"You can't mimic anymore."

"I can't believe you pushed me this far."

Wakato managed to tie it again, but Kaidoh pushed ahead with his Boomerang Snake. Everyone was buzzing about why Wakato wasn't switching to another player. Miki and Kajimoto knew why. His determination and pride were too much for him to give up copying somebody when he started. He put too much effort into perfecting too many people.

Suddenly Wakato dipped and lifted his right hand high into the air. _Oh Wakato-sempai, don't be that arrogant..._ He released a Boomerang Snake, and it rounded the outside of the net pole, but fell short by hitting in the doubles court. _You have no idea how much training Kaidoh put into that Boomerang Snake. You can't copy it with just observation._

"Game Kaidoh, 7 Games to 6."

Miki happily snapped away as the two came to the net to shake hands.

"You were amazing. It was a complete defeat," Wakato conceded, finally losing his arrogant tone.

"Why didn't you change into someone else?"

"That's because of my stubbornness. You understand, don't you?" Miki smothered a giggle at the half-insult, drawing Kaidoh's attention to her. She offered him a gentle smile. She noticed Wakato lean over the net and say something in a low voice to Kaidoh. Try as she might, she couldn't make it out, but Kaidoh turned red on the spot and stalked off of the court without another word.

"Wakato-sempai, what did you do?" Miki accused him as he came off of the court himself after consulting with Hanamura.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he commented lightly, leaning against the fence in front of her. She gave him a very suspicious look and shook her head.

" Kaidoh-san look this way!" a girl called from the other side of the court. Miki watched Kaidoh turn and look at the girl, scaring her into pouring a can of soda onto her head. Miki burst into laughter, knowing very well what had just happened.

Wakato watched her laugh in pure amusement. "What's so funny?"

She smiled widely. "Your fans just tried to trick Kaidoh, but got scared and ran off." She looked over at Kaidoh, who was still confused. "He has that affect on people."

"But not you," Wakato commented lightly.

She shook her head. "I don't understand what's scary about him, really. He's a nice person."

Kajimoto and the Singles 2 player, Shinjou Reiji, walked off to warm up while the court was being cleaned. Miki watched the two walk by. Singles 2 would be an interesting match, especially since it depended entirely on Shinjou to keep Josei Shonan in the match.

**END**

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Yay! Now, time for reviewer love!

**Coco96:** Wakato is indeed a baka. But a lovable baka nonetheless. Thank you for reviewing!

**CemeteryRain:** I love to create tension. It's just so exciting! And the Josei team helps so so much, especially Wakato's personality. Well, there's much more to come. Thank you for the review!

**thesadisttensaifuji:** Why thank you! I love Kaidoh too. I hope you continue enjoying it. Thanks for reviewing!

**Yanza:** Thank you! It's really hard to write her sometimes though, because I try to make her a very innocent character. I had fun with these two chapters because she's more comfortable with the Josei Shonan team so she lets herself speak her mind and be playful and frustrated and everything. You really get to see that she's not a perfect little angel. Thank you for the review!

**Saya. Hikari. Uchiha:** Well, it seems Fanfiction won't let me write your name the correct way. I'm sorry, but this is as close as I can get without it being automatically cut out. I had this same issues whenever I wrote St. Rudolph. It's like it flips out when there's no space between the period and the following word. Anyway, her past is still a secret, but not for too long. All shall be revealed in due time. Thanks for the review! I hope you keep enjoying it!

**cranberryben:** I'm sorry to keep you anxiously waiting for so long! I hope you're still wanting to read! Thank you for reviewing!

And the good news is that I already have part of the next chapter written! I want to make sure that I won't be so so very late in updating again so I'm trying do more than I need to so I don't have to do as much to finish a chapter. That way maybe I can stay more regular with updating. I'm so bad at that... Until next time!


	20. A Secret Revealed

**Only a day late, not too bad. I try to post on Sundays, but between football and laundry I never seem to get the time. For the record, I finished this Sunday night but I felt like it was too late to post it. I hope the length makes up for the delay anyway. Finally, the Josei Shonan match finishes. Enjoy~!**

**SPOILER ALERT: This chapter includes the results of the rest of the Josei Shonan match.**

* * *

**START**

"S-E-I-G-A-K-U can say! Yay! Seigaku! Hey! Seigaku! Let's go! S-E-I-G-A-K-U can do! Yay! Seigaku! Hey! Seigaku! Let's go!"

"Your team is so weird," one of the twins commented as he and his brother watched the two ichinen cheerleaders rally the entire Seigaku team and supporters into a cheer. Miki raised an eyebrow at the two, unsure of which the comment had come from.

"I wouldn't call Josei Shonan normal either. Besides," she commented light, turning back to watch through the fence as the cheer died down for the match to begin, "There's nothing wrong with being different."

The game started normally enough by all appearances. Two games came and went in Echizen's favor quickly enough. One thing was bothering Miki as she watched. She remembered Hanamura favor Shinjou the entire time she was at Josei Shonan, so he should be one of their best players. _So why is Echizen only getting aces and return aces? Why isn't Shinjou returning the ball?_

"Oh, scary. Shinjou-kun is serious," Kohei said as Echizen and Shinjou changed courts.

"Yeah, isn't that the preparation for the Mirage?" Shouhei replied.

Miki looked up at Wakato, confused. "Mirage? What's that?"

"Just watch," he replied with his trademark cocky smirk.

She gave him a suspicious look but kept silent and kept a close eye on Shinjou. Nothing seemed different about him except a sudden intense look in his eyes. He served and Echizen returned, but the ball sailed and hit just beyond the baseline.

"That was it. The Mirage." She turned to look at Kajimoto, about to ask what he'd seen, but saw Shinjou serve again. She watched the ball suddenly smash into Echizen's racket and push it out of his grasp. _Eh? That was a normal serve. Why did Echizen lose it?_

A third serve was by Echizen with so much power that it smashed into the fence high above Shinjou's head. It finally connected with Miki. _There are no tells about how the ball is being hit. He can't tell if it'll be powerful or soft._

"It's pointless," Miki heard from behind her, another snide comment from Kouhei. "He's already trapped by Shinjou-kun."

"Yeah, we couldn't win even if the both of us played him at once," Shouhei chimed right back.

Miki bristled at the comments. "You don't know Echizen-san. His special ability is his adaptability. I have confidence in him."

Kajimoto shook his head. "You haven't seen the spin yet. Watch."

The ball was sliced and spun normally at first, but it completely changed as it came close to Echizen's racket. The ball slid off of his racket, unaffected by his hit. Miki could only watch in silent shock. _He can change the spin, too? How is that possible?_ As unbelievable as it was, she saw another ball begin with top spin and end with under spin.

"Game Josei Shonan's Shinjou, 3 games to 2."

As much as she hated to admit it, this would be a difficult game for Echizen. Still, she snapped away with her camera, capturing Shinjou at his best for her Josei album while she waiting for Echizen to make a breakthrough like she knew he would. He was already changing his game, serving with his right hand so he could hit a twist serve. It failed, but it was something new for him.

"That kid is playing like that?"

"That's kind of sad."

Getting flustered at the twins and their endless commentary, Miki started to turn and tell them off again. Her words failed as Kajimoto also commented on Shinjou's determination and likelihood of winning. Feeling the uselessness of her words, she gave up trying to convince them of her viewpoint. _I can't really expect them to favor Echizen over their own ace anyway. It's pointless. I'll just have a big "I told you so" ready for when he pulls of a victory._

Echizen coninued hitting twist serves and twisting returns, continually aiming for Shinjou's face. It seemed like it was getting nowhere, as Kajimoto voiced a second later, until Echizen hit a Super Rising to take the point. Then he took another point by rushing the net to hit a smash. And another, gaining the advantage.

"What the hell is he doing?"

"It's impossible to break through the Mirage."

"I told you so," Miki bragged to the twins, sticking her tongue out at them playfully.

"Game Seigaku's Echizen. 3 games all."

_Yatta! _Miki cheered in her mind, not wanting to bring down the Josei Shonan team with her happiness at Echizen catching up to their ace. _He's broken the Mirage. With his only technique broken, this should be an easy win now._

"You and your coach are both mada mada dane (not there yet)," Echizen taunted. Something snapped in Shinjou. He suddenly assumed a strange position with his arms crossed over each other and hit a bullet straight at Echizen's face.

Miki felt her entire body start to shake in familiar terror. That shot was known to all of Josei Shonan. Known and feared. Echizen slowly sat up, a bright red burn right under his right eye. Just seeing it made Miki's eye twitch reflexively. She gripped the fence tightly and glared right through at Hanamura.

"Hanamura-sensei, you promised you sealed it! You promised that this wouldn't happen again!" she cried, ignoring the comforting hands on her shoulders. She lowered her head and breathed deeply to get a grip on her shaking. It took the entire break for her to calm down enough to continue watching.

Her resolve to finish watching the match was almost broken as Shinjou hit another shot, this one curving specifically around Echizen's racket to leave an abraison under the previous one.

"There's is no excess in his movement. Maybe next time I should become Shinjou," Wakato said thoughtfully. He then took the stance of Deep Impulse, complete with Shinjou's deep yell.

"Nani?" Miki whispered to herself, unable to believe he'd just said that. "You would copy a technique that was specifically used to physically and mentally destroy an opponent?" Her voice grew louder as she stomped closer to Wakato. He backed away, a sheepish expression replacing his thoughtful one.

"I-ie, not the Deep Impulse, Miki-chan, I would never do that! I was talking about Mirage!" he told her, trying to calm her down. He put his hands up defensively, knowing and expecting her anger at suggesting anything that would cause injury, but was only met with her exhaustion and disappointment at Shinjou.

_I can't stand this,_ she thought, sitting down on the ground and looking down at her hands folded in her lap. _I can't watch_. All she could do was listen at Shinjou continued to hit Deep Impulse shots, even as returns. The only time she dared a glance up, she instantly looked back down. Echizen had at least 4 marks on his face and more on his arms. A tear slid out of her closed eye.

Miki blocked out Kajimoto's explanation of how the Deep Impulse originated and was sealed, already knowing the story from the beginning of her first year. Her first time on the tennis court with Josei Shonan, she was Shinjou defeat a player with this shot. If she hadn't befriended so many tennis players, she would have never come near the sport again. It was too painful to watch everyone get hurt.

"15 All!"

"Eh?"

Caught up in her thoughts, Miki missed Echizen return a Deep Impulse for a point. Watching closely this time, she noticed him rush the net and stutter step to reach the ball. Inui's explanation was loud enough for her to hear and she realized how it would make sense for him to use it.

"Game Seigaku's Echizen. Game count: 4 games all."

Then, almost as quickly, "Game Echizen, 5 games to 4."

_He threw a game,_ she realized as she heard Shinjou explain himself to Hanamura. _I just hope he'll lessed up on the Deep Impulse._ It seemed her prayer was answered at first, but he quickly returned to his destructive style. It started a battle of power between the two, with Echizen using Shinjou's own power and the Stutter Step to keep the ball alive.

Somehow, Echizen managed to slam the ball back at Shinjou, hitting him with his own destructive shot and leaving a familiar mark. _Why must everyone always get hurt? _

The mind games continued as Shinjou started to use Mirage again, alternating it with his Deep Impulse and fake Deep Impulses to break down Echizen's concentration. It worked for a few shots, until Echizen utilized his Stutter Step, Twist Serve, and Shinjou's own power to take the lead and the win. Even Hanamura could see the result of the game before it ended, conceding defeat to Ryuzaki while the ball was still in play

"Game and match, 6 games to 4, Seigaku's Echizen!"

Miki smiled and snapped a photo of Echizen, despite his condition, for her photo albums. Then she slowly got her feet and smiled sadly at Josei Shonan. "That was a good game, minna-san."

The twins gave her expectant looks to which she just smiled. "You can stop acting that way, I'm not going to say it."

Wakato pouted at her. "We probably would have won if Miki-chan was cheering for us instead."

She stood on her tiptoes, took his hat off and patted his head sympathetically. "It's okay Wakato-sempai, you're still my favorite sempai." He smirked and put his arm around her. "Even if you are a loser." He removed his arm with an offended look.

"That was just mean."

Miki bowed to the other team members and gave Wakato and Kajimoto hugs goodbye. "I'll see you guys again soon. I promise."

She waved goodbye to them and ran off to catch up with the Seigaku Regulars as they made their way to Kawamura's sushi shop for a celebration.

* * *

"Doubles 2 had an unbelieveable accident, but it turned out all right. We made it to Best 4!" Ryuzaki announced to applause from the restaurant. "Since Kawamura promised us all-you-can-eat, eat all you can!"

Of course the boys didn't need to be told, as they began shoveling food into their mouths. Some were more delicate than others. Others being Momo, mostly.

"Wait a minute! Did you forget? The losers have to eat wasabi sushi!"

Miki laughed and got her camera out, snapping pictures of Momo and Inui as they were presented with the punishment sushi. _Ah, finally Inui knows the torture of having to eat something unfortunate!_

"Fshhhh," Miki heard from behind her. She turned around to look straight into Kaidoh's piercing orbs.

She looked back for a moment, unnerved by his penetrating stare. "Nani? Is something wrong?" she finally asked, unable to stand his piercing eyes on her any longer. He straightened and placed his hands on his knees, never taking his eyes off her.

"You tell me."

Miki looked down at the table. _Should I tell them? Either way, I can't stop it from happening. Maybe it's better to tell them now instead of them finding out for themselves tomorrow._ Returning her gaze to his, she started to explain the previous night to him, taking care to keep her voice low.

"Last night I got a call from my kaa-san. She's a businesswoman in Hong Kong and I only really see her around the holidays, but she's still tries to be protective of me. Well, apparently she heard about my little... incident from last week. She was very mad." Miki smiled sheepishly, still embarrassed at the trouble she caused. "She didn't believe that it was an accident. I haven't exactly been honest about how I've gotten hurt in the past." Kaidoh's eyes flickered over to her bang, obviously thinking about her scar underneath.

She sighed, unsure of how to say the next part. She started fidgeting and looked around at the team enjoying themselves. A small, sad smile graced her lips. _How can I ruin this atmosphere?_

Kawamura shuffled by the table to grab Kaidoh's empty sushi bowl, balancing a teetering stack of other bowls against his chest. Thankful for the distraction and honestly wanting to help, Miki excused herself from Kaidoh and walked up to Kawamura. "Kawamura-sempai, let me help!" she said cheerfully, scooping some of the bowls out of his grasp. He started to protest but she maneuvered herself around him and started walking back towards the kitchen. Just as she was walking by, Momo fell over and knocked into her legs.

"Ah, sorry Miki-chan," he said sheepishly.

"It's fine," she assured him, readjusting the stack so it was no longer in danger of falling over. She started to move away.

"Ah, Miki-chan, hold on a second!" She walked back to him and he gave her a strange smile that almost seemed pained. "You seemed to be pretty cozy with that one Josei Shonan guy. What was his name? Wakato? It looked like there was something going on there."

Heat rushed to her face and she gave him an awkward smile. "Iie, we're just friends."

"Are you sure?" he continued, seemingly not aware of her discomfort. "You seemed pretty happy while he was winning, and you guys did hug quite a bit. Or do I have the wrong person? You didn't move from their captain's side almost the entire time you were over there."

Miki's eyes darted to the curious stares around her. She didn't like being on the spot like this, even if she knew he was wrong. Something came up in her throat and she could feel the heat in her face being replaced by a cold sweat. "I don't-"

"I'm a bit surprised though. I didn't expect for you to be like all of those other cheerleaders."

That hit a nerve and was all she could take. Careful not to drop the bowls, Miki walked as quickly as she could into the kitchen and placed the bowls into the sink. Then, as quickly as she could, she ran back and scooped up her bag. Without even a final glance, she ran out of the shop and into the night, leaving tear drops on the carpet in her wake.

Everybody was frozen in shock. Momo scratched his head and looked at his fellow Regulars. He was surprised to see most of them were glaring back. "What?"

"You're an idiot," Kaidoh told him, turning to look at the door.

"What did you say?" Momo shot back, his temper starting to flare.

Kikumaru interjected before the fight could escalate. "Kaidoh's right! That was such a mean thing to do, putting Miki on the spot like that, and saying she was just one of those annoying cheerleaders!"

"According to my data, Miki was showing emotions that fit with the flow of Seigaku, not Josei Shonan," Inui added, reading out of his notebook. "She even yelled at her sempai for you."

"Eh?"

"That's right! You were being taken to the medic center," Oishi realized. The he explained to Momo, "Wakato was making fun of you after you passed out from Inui's juice and Miki yelled at him to stop."

Momo looked down at his lap, lost in thought. Kaidoh shook his head, not believing he was going to tell them this. "Miki told that guy that she was cheering for me during the match." All heads turned to him and Kaidoh felt his cheeks burn. He hissed quietly to himself and placed his hand on his bandanna, trying to ignore the curious looks on everyone's face.

"Well? What did she say?" Kikumaru finally urged.

Kaidoh thought back to the end of that match.

* * *

"You were amazing. It was a complete defeat," Wakato finally conceded, walking towards the net after failing to copy Kaidoh's Boomerang Snake.

Kaidoh had to ask. "Why didn't you change into someone else?"

"That's because of my stubbornness. You understand, don't you?" he offered with a teasing smile. Kaidoh's temper flared, but he was distracted by an amused laugh from to sidelines. He looked over and saw Miki giving him a gentle smile.

"She was cheering for you the entire time, you know." Kaidoh turned to look at Wakato. _What is he __talking about? And why is he whispering?_ "She told me before the match. 'Gomen, Wakato-sempai, but I won't be cheering for you today. Kaidoh is going to win this match.' I think that's what she said."

"You must have been mistaken."

"Look at my team." Kaidoh complied. All of his teammates looked frustrated, knowing they were just one loss away from being defeated. "Everyone's mad that I lost this match. Now look at Miki."

_She's smiling, _Kaidoh realized. _Her friend lost, her old team could lose, and she's still smiling._ Kaidoh turned back and saw Wakato smiling wickedly at him. Before he could say anything else, Kaidoh stomped off of the court. He could feel the blood rushing to his face but refused to acknowledge it. _He must be wrong._

* * *

"So... she was cheering for Seigaku... the entire time?" Momo mumbled, finally realizing his mistakes. _Took you long enough, _Kaidoh though to himself, wondering how it could take him that long to figure it out. Momo started up and began to go after her but stopped at the door. "What's this?"

A piece of paper was lodged in the door's track. He bent down and picked it up, noticing something was scribbled on the paper. He read it, blinked, read it again, and let it fall from his grasp.

"What? What is it?" Kikumaru asked anxiously. Momo turned and looked at the others, all color gone from his face.

"She's going to Hong Kong."

The Regulars crowded around Kikumaru as he picked up the paper and held it so everyone could see. Scrawled in neat handwriting were the words_ Narita Airport, Gate B, 10:15._

Miki looked over her work, making sure she worded everything as best she could, and stood from her seat. The atmosphere of the team's locker room seemed perfect for her to convey her thoughts just the right way. Pleased with her note, she flipped it over in her hands.

"I should probably go back and explain," she told herself out loud. "But after that..." _I just can't_.

She looked down at the note in her hand. It was written on the back of a photograph she was carrying in her bag. It was the group photo from the dawn hiking trip. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at it. Carefully, she pinned it to the wall next to Kikumaru's cubby.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, then turned on her heel and left the room. "Mata ne, Seigaku."

**END**

* * *

Reviewer love!

**Yanza:** Love the exclamation points! I'm glad you liked seeing her interactions with Josei Shonan; I enjoyed writing it. It was something new. But all things must come to an end, so now Josei is again out of the picture. For now. Thank you for the review!

**Coco96:** Did I update soon enough? :P Cliffhanger! Thank you for reviewing!

**darkheart1992:** I'm trying to keep updating, I just keep getting bogged down by my real life. Ann will be a good part of the story in the future, don't you worry :) Something else to think about. Very interesting theories. Anemic, huh? None of your theories are lame, I enjoy hearing them. It's like interactive story-telling. Thanks for reviewing, keep reading!

**CemeteryRain:** Well there's what Wakato said to Kaidoh! Suspense is the best part. I think I maaaay have created just a little bit more. XD Thanks for the review!

**waterdemon9:** Thank you! :D I'm very glad you've enjoyed it so far, and I hope I don't disappoint. Thank you for the review and I hope you continue to read it!

What will happen next? Find out on the next installment of _Looking Through My Eyes_!

... Yes, I am a dork.


	21. Life of a Businesswoman

**Well, that took a while, ne? I was having a hard time splitting up what I wanted to happen into chapters again. I think I managed well enough. You'll want to pay attention to this chapter; it has a lot of information about Miki in it that will be very important.**

* * *

**START**

"Miki, you need to get up and start getting ready. We have an early business breakfast in a few hours." Miki groaned and pulled the covers away from her face. The bedside clock taunted her with its neon numbers, telling her that it was even too early for the sun to rise, much less her. She started to pull the covers back over her head.

"Don't you dare, Miki," a sharp voice snapped at her. Reluctantly, she sat up and looked up at the woman in front of her through drowzy eyes.

A petite woman was staring down at her with a stern expression. Everything about her said business, from her dark brown hair pulled back in a perfect bun to the black blazer and dress pants she was wearing. An official-looking name tag was pinned to her chest with the name "Naoko Shiratori" written in English above the name Bausch and Lomb, Hong Kong Office. She even had wire-rimmed glasses that Miki knew were not for improving her vision. Her hands were on her hips in an expectant way as she looked down at her daughter.

"Hai, Kaa-san," Miki yawned, rising to her feet and stumbling into the connecting bathroom for a shower. She nearly fell over a suitcase full of her normal clothes, none of them touched since she arrived nearly a week before.

"Be quick, we have to get you ready, as well," her mother called through the closed door. She rolled her eyes and looked in the mirror at herself. She looked awful. Her hair was knotted every-which way it possibly could be and dark bags were developing under her eyes. She felt worse than she looked. _Keeping up with a businesswoman is hard! I'm too young for this stuff._

After a quick shower (though not quick enough, as her mother chided her), Miki was steered into her mother's large bathroom and planted right in front of a gigantic mirror. Hundreds of bottles, compacts, brushes, and other cosmetic containers were scattered on the counter in front of her. Those were ignored for the moment as her mother attacked her hair with a blowdryer and brush. Once it was dry, her mother pulled it into a bun very similar to her own and sprayed her work to keep any little hairs she missed in their proper place.

"It would be easier if you shaved it all off," Miki tried to joke between coughing at the cloud of hair spray. Her mother rolled her eyes and spun Miki around in the chair to do make-up. Most of it was just to make her look more lively, but mascara and lip gloss were added as well.

After she was done, she looked in the mirror at herself again. It was quite the transformation. She looked older than her 13 years, and felt older too. _Not in a good way_, she thought as she dragged herself back into her bedroom to change into the clothes her mom had bought her. She looked exactly like her mother, only without the glasses and the blazer. Instead, she was wearing a clean, white dress shirt with ruffles around her wrists.

"Come on Miki, it's time to go!"

She grabbed her cell phone and started towards the door, but stopped as her phone's light blinked at her. She looked down and saw she had 3 more missed calls than she had the previous morning. Nearly every Regular from Seigaku had called her each day, some more than others. The three new ones were from Kikumaru, Oishi, and Momo.

_If I had the time I would call back. I miss you guys so much._

"Miki!"

"Coming!" She snapped her phone closed and tucked it into her pocket, running to meet her mom. She locked the apartment door behind her and ran down to the sleek, black car waiting in front of the building. The back door was open and she slid in beside her mom. Her mom signaled the driver to go and they were off to the meeting, right on schedule.

"Your English tutor said that you're having trouble with your grammar," her mother said some time later with a sigh, flipping through papers in her briefcase. "You're going to have to study more in your off time."

"What off time?" Miki mumbled, making sure her mother couldn't hear. _I don't even have time to call my friends or develop my pictures. _She looked dismally out the window at the mucky sky, finding some amusement that the weather reflected her feelings.

"English is a very important language in my work. You'll have to master it one day." Just then, Miki's phone began to buzz in her pocket. She started to take it out, hoping she could answer the call before they reached their destination. Her mother gave her a look. "Cell phone off when we're out. You know the rules."

"Hai, Kaa-san," she mumbled, pulling out her phone to see a missed call from Kikumaru. She silenced it instead of turning it off and shoved it back into her pocket.

Soon after they arrived at the restaurant and Miki followed obediently behind her mother as they went inside and found their table. Two men were already seated across from two empty seats and rised as they approached the table. They greeted her mother in what Miki knew to be English, but she couldn't process what they were saying. _I hate this stupid language,_ she thought to herself as she managed a rough greeting and introduction in English back to them as they shook her hand.

The breakfast was awful for Miki. She had no idea what was being said between the adults so she just let her mind wander as they talked. Every now and then she would feel eyes on her and realize that she was asked something and her mother would quietly translate what was said to her, apologizing to the men for the inconvenience. To make matters worse, neither of the men would look her in the eye. They either looked down while they talked to her or locked their eyes on her scar, which was clearly visible with all of her hair pulled back.

_They always stare. Why do they always stare? _Every meeting Miki had attended with her mother had involved the other party sneaking glances at her scar. She was never really self-conscious of it before, but their constant looks made her very uncomfortable. She had tried telling her mother that, but the answer she received didn't help. 'You shouldn't let their discomfort be your own. Be confident in yourself.' Those words would mean more if her mother didn't wear things she didn't actually need just to look more proper.

"Bausch and Lomb appreciates your time. We will be in contact soon to let you know what the next steps will be," Miki heard her mom finally say. She didn't understand most of it, but her mother's tone told her it was time to leave. Thankful, she gave the men a final bow and followed her mom out and back into the car.

"Thank goodness!" she sighed, slidding down in her seat. Her back had started to hurt from sitting so long in the chair at the restaurant.

"Don't slouch," her mother commanded immediately, pulling out her cell phone. Miki pouted to herself and sat up normally. She heard her mother start a conversation in some dialect of Chinese with what she assumed was someone at her company.

Raindrops began to fall from murky sky and Miki sighed to herself. She was hoping to ask her mother if they could visit a park in the time between meetings and meals so she could enjoy some fresh air and take a few photos of the beautiful trees and flowers. That idea was crushed; her mother would never allow her to get her clothes wet. Waiting for her mother to finish up on the phone, she trained her eyes on the drops of water sliding down the tinted window.

The passing scenery hadn't captured her attention until Miki realized that they were pulling up to a long set of stairs leading up to an old-looking brick building. College students were weaving in and out of each other on the paths, taking care not to bump umbrellas with each other. _I wonder what we're doing here._

"Come along Miki. Prepare your umbrella so you don't get your nice clothes wet."

Her mother had already exited the back of the car and was walking around to her side, a boring black umbrella protecting her. Miki looked down at her own matching umbrella and grimaced. _I miss colors._ She carefully maneuvered herself out of the car while keeping the umbrella over her head and fell into step behind her mother as they started their trek up three flights of stairs.

The front of the building came into view and Miki immediately knew why they were there. The name of the building was written above the entrance in Chinese characters with the English name underneath it. **Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences.**

"Kaa-san, why have I been going to seminars and museums every day that I've been here?" she asked, hiding a disappointed sigh.

"To educate you, of course. How are you going to become a key employee of Bausch and Lomb if you don't get a medical degree first? Even the businesspeople have a basic understanding of what our eye care products do to the body."

_But I don't want to work at Bausch and Lomb_, she thought miserably to herself as she entered the building. Someone immediately walked up to her and started giving her a private tour of the facilities. Some ways behind her, Miki heard her mother's phone ring yet again and rolled her eyes.

The tour was painfully dull, mostly because the guide was not very good at speaking Japanese. Her Chinese accent bled through and Miki could hardly understand her most of the time. It also didn't help that at every turn she was handed a pamphlet about whatever exhibit was in front of her, written completely in Chinese and therefore useless to her.

Finally, the guide had finished the tour and led Miki back to the front of the building. Her mother had seemingly been on the phone the entire time she was gone. She was snapping her phone shut with an annoyed expression as Miki walked up.

"Let's go, we have a lunch meeting to get to. Did you enjoy the museum?"

Thoroughly fed up with everything, she mumbled a simple 'Hai' and shuffled ahead of her mother to the stairs. Her phone buzzed loudly but she didn't even reach to look at it. It would only make her heart hurt more, wanting to be back with her friends. She felt her mother's eyes on her the entire walk back down to the car, then heard her flip open her phone and say something quickly before hanging up again.

"Miki," her mother said in an unusually soft tone. She turned and looked at her with dull eyes. "Maybe it would be best if I go to this meeting alone. I'm having another car sent to take me, so why don't you go home and get some rest?"

The light that had died in Miki's eyes flickered back to life and a smile spread across her lips. "Arigatou, Kaa-san!" she cried, bowing deeply to her mother. Her mother walked closer and gently pulled on the band holding her hair up, letting it loose to fall around her face and again hide her scar.

"There's food in the fridge for lunch. I'll bring something back for dinner tonight. Stay out of trouble, ne?" She smiled at her daughter and walked away down the street, chattering away on her cell phone with someone. Miki watched her leave before happily getting in the car.

The second Miki walked into the apartment she shed the stuffy formal clothing and put on her favorite pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Then she ran into the bathroom and scrubbed the make-up off of her face. The transformation was amazing. While she still looked tired, her face was much more lively than it had been for the past few days.

"Ah, I almost forgot!" She scooped up the film canisters from her bag and walked into the dark room between her and her mother's room. It looked hardly used, but gorgeous pictures of some of the local scenery were still hanging from clips on the string. It was no mystery how Miki had acquired her love of photography. She carefully pulled the pictures down and stacked them to look through while her own pictures were being developed. Once hers were treated, washed, and hanging to dry, she walked into the living room and started shuffling through the stack.

Her mother had more of a taste for capturing nature. Many of the photos were from a nearby park, some of the floral arrangements and the greenery and others of what little wildlife thrived in the area. Feelings of peace and calm came over Miki as she looked over her mother's work. Then she looked over at her own album, laying open as it waited to be filled with more pictures from the latest match.

She smiled down at the many faces of her friends as they had the times of their lives, both on and off the court. It hurt, knowing she was missing their game that day. She didn't even know who they were supposed to play against.

_I suppose I'll find out eventually_, she thought to herself groggily as she felt her eyelids start to droop. It took all of her strength to hold them open for a while longer, but they eventually slid closed. Exhausted yet content, Miki slipped into dreams and memories of home.

**END**

* * *

Okay, on to the reviews! I'm seeing a pattern amongst the readers concerning what they think will happen.

**Coco96:** She doesn't want to leave Kaidoh, of course! But her mother is in charge of her, so what she says goes. It'll all work out :) Thank you for the review!

**rebirthreborn:** I didn't realize until you commented that the title could be taken that way! I'm sorry to have been a tease :P Haha, it would have been interesting if she was stopped as she boarded the plane, but the paper she dropped didn't say if the plane left in the morning or at night. Nobody could have known when she was actually leaving. Thanks for reviewing!

**darkheart1992:** *Gasp!* No theories? That's a shame. I love hearing your theories. I agree, it would have been funny if Kaidoh stopped her. But it was not to be. Thank you for reviewing!

**Yanza:** Alas, they didn't stop her. The anime does tend to be a bit melodramatic about tennis matches, but I like the anime just the same. It's funny and exciting! But I like to think that even without knowing the anime, my story sticks close enough for you to know what happens without actually watching it. Until next time, thanks for the review!

**Saya. Hikari. Uchiha:** I could definitely see that happening! I'm sorry the cliffhanger made you sad, but hopefully I can fix that! Thank you for reading and reviewing!

**waterdemon6:** Wow, such dedication! But I think maybe you should read emails from your mom first. My story isn't going anywhere :) I'm sorry your internet was out but am glad that it's back up! I hope it doesn't go out again. No more big storms for your area, I hope? Thank you for reading and reviewing once you were able to!

It seems my lovely readers forgot something important that I stated at the very beginning of my story. It makes me happy that my little trick worked, but the truth was written very clearly. Oh well, I suppose. It's my little secret! Until the next chapter! Ja!


	22. Going Home

**I'm sorry about the delay on this chapter; my internet at home got turned off. I'm only able to post this because I'm using the internet at my boyfriend's house. Since I don't want to spend a lot of my time with him doing the normal formatting on my chapters, I'll post review responses on my next chapter. I'm going to copy my reviews into a document and write my own responses to post at the bottom of the next chapter. I don't know when it'll be posted, but I'll try my best to make it soon.**

* * *

**START**

A loud buzz sounding from underneath the pillow Miki's head rested on roughly jolted her awake. She looked around in confusion before feeling underneath the pillow and finding her cellphone. The display glowed bright in the dark apartment; the sun had long since set and her mother was still not home yet. The vibration was telling her that her inbox was full and needed to be cleared. She noticed that amongst the missed calls in her inbox were a few text messages as well.

"Kuso!" she cursed, realizing that she'd forgotten to return some of the calls that she'd gotten over the past week.. They were playing a match earlier that day so she hoped to call them later in the afternoon once it was over. She checked the clock and saw that it was probably too late for her to call back. She didn't want to disturb anybody. "I guess I'll just try to call them another day. I hope I have the time."

Her phone began to vibrate in her hand as she was deleting some of her missed calls. It was a text from Kaidoh. _Odd... He's the only one that hasn't contacted me at all since I've been gone. It's strange that he would text me now._ She opened the text message.

**We defeated Rokkaku Chuu in three straight sets today. We're in the Finals for the Kantou Tournament. ~ Kaidoh**

Miki smiled widely, proud of their straight wins, and immediately texted him back.

**I'd expect nothing less from Seigaku. I'm just sorry I wasn't there to take some good pictures. So you guys instantly win a position to play in the Nationals, right? ~ Miki**

While waiting for a response she stood and went into the dark room. Her photos were dry and ready to be entered into her album. She smiled at them as she sorted between Seigaku and Josei Shonan. Each had their own album so they needed to be separated. A third pile of pictures of Wakato was set aside so Miki could write his respective impersonations on them. Just as she finished, her phone received another text.

**Hai. And there will be more chances for pictures. We play next Sunday. Ja. ~ Kaidoh.**

Just as Miki closed her phone she heard the front door unlock. Her mother walked in, just as prim and proper looking as always, with a bag of food hanging from her arm.

"I came back a few hours ago to take you to dinner but you were asleep," she explained, kicking off her shoes as she made her way into the kitchen. "You looked like you needed the rest."

Miki followed her mom and got a plate and some utensils. "Arigatou," she said quietly as her mother places the boxes of food down in front of her. _Mmmm, beef stew and dumplings. _"Itadakimasu."

She felt her mother's eyes on her as she ate but remained silent. Nothing to say came to mind. Once she finished eating, she and her mother went into the living room and sat down.

"You're not very happy here, are you?"

Miki tried to work her response carefully. "I'm glad to see you Kaa-san, but you're always busy with meetings and work. They make me uncomfortable and I never have any free time to relax and have some fun. Besides," she looked down at the picture stacks on the coffee table, "I miss my friends."

Her mother nodded solemnly and followed her gaze down to the pictures. The one on top of the Seigaku stack was of Kaidoh, crouched after performing the Boomerang Snake. She noticed Miki's eyes lingering on this picture.

"Is there perhaps a friend that you miss more than the others?" her mother asked with a wicked smile. She picked up the picture and held it out to Miki. "This boy, maybe?"

Miki's face flushed. "I-iie! I miss everybody the same!" She snatched the picture away and went to bury it deeper in the stack, but the next one on top was also of Kaidoh. And the next. Miki finally cut the stack in half and flipped the two parts so a picture of Echizen was on top. Her mother was roaring with laughter at her embarrassment.

"Well, I think it's nearly time for bed. We have an early start tomorrow," her mother said, stretching her arms above her head. Miki's mood dropped instantly, expecting another day full of uncomfortable meetings and lessons that she didn't need. "There's a nearby high school tennis tournament that I thought you would be interested in, but it starts early."

"Eh?"

Her mother smiled and winked. "I've accumulated quite a bit of vacation time so I decided to use a couple of days while I still have you with me. Is that okay?"

She smiled widely at her mother. "Arigatou, Kaa-san. I would love that." Her mother returned the smile and stood.

"Well, come on. I know you've been sleeping all day but some of us are exhausted."

Miki bid her mother good night and looked down at her pictures again. _I think things will be a lot better now, but I still can't wait to be back. _She grabbed the stacks and her albums and walked back into her room. Making sure her alarm was set for the next day, she laid down in bed and let herself drift off to sleep.

* * *

_It's so great to be back!_ Miki thought to herself as she and Kumo walked together down the sidewalks of Tokyo. She'd returned just that morning and was excited to walk around the city and see everyone again. It had been two weeks since she left and, while she enjoyed spending the second half having fun and seeing sights with her mother, it was relieving to be home.

"Nya!" Kumo seemed to cry in agreement to her feelings as he weaved in and out of her legs.

"I know, Kumo-kun, Kazue probably didn't take you out to walk at all, did he?" she cooed as she picked him up into her arms. "Wow, you've gained a little weight. We'll have to start running regularly again tomorrow." She shifted his weight in her arms and stroked his fur happily while walking down the street.

"BURNING! Just how long do you guys plan to sleep?"

_Kawamura-sempai! Does that mean the boys are nearby? _Miki placed Kumo down on the ground and

ran towards the source of the yelling. She rounded the corner just as the Regulars were splitting up to head home after some sort of trip.

"Konnichi wa!" she called, walking up with a wide smile. To her surprise she was almost immediately surrounded. Everyone started talking at once and Miki backed away until her back hit the stone wall. "One at a time!"

"What are you doing back in Japan?" Momo blurted out immediately.

She gave him a blank stare. "You don't want me to be in Japan?" His face immediately flushed red and he stumbled to correct himself while Miki giggled at his reaction.

"What he meant was we thought you were moving to Hong Kong," Oishi explained calmly.

"You left without telling us," Kikumaru cried, wrapping his arms around her midsection and burying his face in her shoulder. "We thought you were gone forever!"

"D-demo," she started, trying to look over Kikumaru's hair, "Didn't anyone read my note?"

Kikumaru stopped crying and looked at her in confusion. "Note? What note?"

_Don't tell me..._ "The note I wrote on the back of the group picture I pinned to the wall right next to Eiji-kun's cubby in the locker room."

All eyes turned to Kikumaru, who was staring off into space. He paused for a long time. "There's a picture next to my cubby?" he finally asked slowly.

Miki sighed. "I should've put it in Oishi's, apparently. I just went to my mom's home in Hong Kong for two weeks. She was worried that I was being bullied again since I had to go to the hospital. That's all."

"Ah! Gomen, Miki-chan, but I need to go help Ryuzaki-sensei decide the order of the Finals. I'll see you tomorrow!" Oishi called, running off into the school. As he ran he called over his shoulder, "I'm glad you're back!"

"I need to go over the data I've collected. It will be necessary to win. Ja," Inui muttered, walking off with his attention entirely focussed in his trademark notebook.

"I guess everyone needs to go and practice, ne?" Miki asked with a smile. "I guess I'll see you all tomorrow!"

"Fuji-san!" she heard as she started walking away. Ann had popped out of nowhere and was standing in front of Fuji. "I'm sorry for calling you out on such short notice."

Momo's reaction to Ann and Fuji was very entertaining. He looked so confused. _Ah, Momoshiro is jealous! Kawaii..._ She giggled when he stuttered a reply to Ann and he glared at her. _I guess I can linger a while and watch the entertaining show. My bags will be there to unpack whenever I get home. _As Ann and Momo talked, Miki trotted back over to the group.

"Well, let's go," Fuji finally said.

"Hai!"

"Eh?" Momo exclaimed. "W-what on Earth is going on here?"

"In other words, they're dating," Echizen replied with an uninterested tone.

"EH?"

"Do you guys want to tag along?" Fuji asked Momo, Miki, and Echizen. Miki smiled and was about to decline, not wanting to intrude on whatever they were doing, but Momo spoke first.

"Eh? That's not very nice, right?"

Miki looked over at him, surprised by his decency. She expected him to accept and make sure there wasn't anything intimate going on with the two. _I'm proud of you, Momoshiro,_ she thought while smiling at him. _That was very mature._

"Really? That's too bad."

Momo watched them start to walk away and ran up to the two, dragging Miki and Echizen along by their wrists. Kumo ran on his leash to keep up with his master. "On second thought, since Fuji-sempai requested it, I guess we'll tag along."

"Momoshiro!" Miki whispered, "We shouldn't intrude on them!" But he wasn't paying attention. He was too busy trying to chat up Ann about where they were going. She sighed and fell into step with Echizen at the back of the group. _So much for the spontaneous maturity.

* * *

_

_The hospital? _Miki wondered to herself as the group of 5 walked inside the building and into an stairwell. She picked Kumo up and carried him with her, half-shielding him from any staff that might make him leave. A group of boys were starting to gather in the lobby for something but Miki paid them no attention. They walked off a few floors up and entered a room with a very familiar person sitting in a hospital bed.

"Thanks for going to the trouble of visiting me, guys," Tachibana greeted.

Momo sighed. "What? So this is where we were going...," he said in a funny voice.

"At least it wasn't a date, ne?" Miki whispered to him with a wide smile. He nudged her with his shoulder and she stifled a chuckle.

"When Fuji-sempai dropped by last time, my brother's condition seemed to improve, ne?"

"But still, we shouldn't always bother other people," he scolded Ann gently.

"Hai!"

_Somehow I feel like I'm intruding. I don't know how Tachibana-buchou was injured. Maybe I should just leave..._

"Oh yeah. Ann, could you go buy me a few things? If it's possible, could you get them from the nearby supermarket? They have my favorite ice cream there."

"Huh? I thought you didn't like sweets."

"And if you could, please try to walk slowly."

_Ahh, I understand. Tachibana-buchou wants to talk to Fuji-sempai. I wonder what about..._ _Oh well._ She started to walk out when Ann suddenly charged through the doorway with Momo and Echizen by the wrists. _It's a good thing I cleared the way or I might have been trampled! _A tug on her bag kept Miki from parting the group in the lobby. Momo had grabbed her shoulder strap and was dragging her along with them. She pouted and walked behind him, stroking Kumo's fur in thought. _Why do I have to go too? _

"Ann-san?" Miki asked once they were in the store, looking for things on Tachibana's list, "How did your brother get injured?"

Hate filled Ann's eyes and she lowered her head. "In the match against Rikkai he played a new ace on the team. He hit my onii-chan with his shots, then forced him to move onto his weakened ankle."

Miki stiffened at the mention of Rikkai. _Shinshiro..._ She swallowed hard and clasped her shaking hands. "What was the ace's name?"

"Kirihara Akaya. He's a second-year. I hate him," she spat out.

Miki relaxed a little. _That's right, Shinshiro can't play tennis anymore. Not since that day... _"His ankle will be okay, won't it? He'll be able to play in the future?"

"Ah. He's recovering quickly. Even moreso when Fuji-sempai visits." She smiled up at Miki, handing her a toothpaste tube to put into the basket. "And you can just call me Ann, no need for honorifics."

"Rikkai is our opponent for the Finals," Momo commented from behind them. All color drained from Miki's face and she dropped the shopping basket on the floor. "Daijoubu, Miki-chan?"

She shook her head and forced a weak smile. "Daijoubu. It's just jet lag. I should be going home now. Ja!" she called, scooping up Kumo and darting from the store. She ran as quickly as she could to her house and slammed the door, almost as if she was afraid something would try to follow her inside.

"Nya!" Kumo cried in protest. Miki didn't realize she had been squeezing him against her chest. She released him and he ran off into the house with his leash dragging behind him.

"Ah, Miki! I was wondering when you'd be home. Kaa-san said you would be back today. Such a shame, I was enjoying-... Are you okay, Miki?" Kazue bent down to get a better look at her face and nearly stumbled back at how pale she was. "What happened?"

"Shinshiro will be at Seigaku's match tomorrow," she managed to mutter. "They're playing Rikkai."

He reached down and grabbed her under her shoulders, lifting her to her feet and carrying her into the sitting room. He dropped her onto the couch. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," she whispered.

"Well, if these boys are as great as you keep telling me they are, they won't let anything happen." He gave her a look and walked into the kitchen.

_That's right. Kikumaru and Oishi would watch out for me, at the very least. Maybe Momoshiro, too. Maybe Kaidoh... No, probably not Kaidoh. He's kind but he has no reason to protect me from anything. He didn't even have a reaction to finding out that I hadn't moved. _She remembered something and pulled her phone out. Scrolling through the texts, she found the previous one from Kaidoh.

"'Hai. And there will be more chances for pictures. We play next Sunday,'" she read aloud. "It almost sounds like... he knew I was coming back."

"Who, that snake boy?" Kazue asked, coming back into the sitting room with tea. "He knew. He came here asking about it the morning after you left. Pretty suspicious for a boy you aren't dating," he said with a sly smile.

"Urusai yo!" Miki squeaked, covering her flushed cheeks with her hands. "I'm going to bed!"

"Hai!" he called through laughs as she stomped away. "If he comes by again tonight I'll let you know!"

She ignored him and slammed her door behind her. _That baka, saying things like that. He doesn't know what he's talking about._ To get her mind off of the embarrassment, Miki started unpacking her bags. She pulled out her two photo albums and was a difficult decision. _Tomorrow...What should I do?_

**END**

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**I hope the chapter was okay, and I can access reviews on my phone so they would still be much appreciated. I'll try to update soon. Ja!**


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